My World Filled With ----
by Wish on the Star
Summary: Sagae Haruki is in desperate need of money to feed her family. Inukai Isuke wants a fake girlfriend so her parents will stop nagging her. Can these two come to an agreement?
1. May Tomorrow Be A Better Day

"What a pain," Isuke complained as she slumped down on the bench tiredly. She leaned her head back and gazed up at the evening sky. It was a bright gray and the sun could not be seen through the thick layer of clouds. The temperature was cool and the air a little moist. The park was completely empty, there wasn't a single person as far as one could see.

The atmosphere was gloomy, which fit Isuke's mood perfectly.

The seventeen-year-old was exhausted. She was so sick of everything and everyone. She simply wanted to be left alone, not just now, but always.

Isuke, blunt and selfish as she was, was sick of other people trying to control her life. All she wanted was just to be able to decide things for herself, without others pushing their ideas and opinions onto her.

Lately, her Mama and Papa had been extra persistent about finding her a partner. Why exactly, was beyond her. Isuke wasn't interested in dating anyone at the moment, she was doing very well on her own.

Anyway, for the last six months or so, they'd constantly introduced her to possible suitors, none of whom she ended up liking.

To begin with, she'd only been slightly annoyed, but after a while it truly started to piss her off. She tried telling them to stop introducing her to guys they thought would be fit for her, but they didn't listen. At one point she decided to tell them that she was interested in girls, in hope that their search for a suitor would end. Unfortunately for her, since her parents where gay themselves, they easily accepted the fact and began trying to find a girlfriend for her instead.

Ugh, why couldn't everyone just leave her alone?

Isuke sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"So annoying," she muttered sleepily to herself.

"What is?"

The sound of the voice immediately alerted her and in a split second she was on her feet, swinging her arm towards the one who'd snuck up on her.

The person avoided the hit by a mere inch and laughed nervously at Isuke as she calmed down upon recognizing the shorter girl.

"Geez, that was close! I swear, one day you're going to get me killed," she snickered playfully, her ever present grin plastered onto her face. Isuke always thought she looked creepy when she was smiling like that, and she often wondered if that was Nio's intention, or if she honestly thought it looked cute.

"I hope so," she replied drily, no sarcasm in her voice.

The blonde pouted, but chose not to come with a reply to her friend's rude comment.

"So, what ya doin' out here?" Nio asked, indiscreetly changing the topic.

Isuke rolled her eyes before she sat down on the park bench again.

She really did like this place. In a way it was like her escape from reality; the one place where she could be alone and think. Sitting on that exact park bench, staring at the blooming sakura trees and the smoothly flowing river was so calming. While she was here, she felt as though she could hide from all her problems for a little while.

"I'll give you three guesses," she commented drily. Nio pretended to ponder over it for a while, scratching her head and making "hmm"-sounds.

"Another girl, huh? What was this one like?" she asked curiously. There was no end to Nio's curiosity. She was just that kind of girl who'd go around asking and gossiping and eavesdropping until she knew everything there was to know about everyone.

"Like I would know. I left before they even introduced us properly."

"That's pretty harsh, not giving her a chance, I mean," said the blonde, "You must be getting really sick of this."

Isuke flexed and curled her fingers, admiring her recently manicured nails while trying to shut out the voice of her unwanted companion. Frankly, Nio's babbling was annoying her. All she wanted right now was to be left alone, and she just didn't take a hint. Isuke swore that if Nio didn't shut the hell up soon, she'd kill her.

"Hey, I have an idea!" she suddenly erupted. Yet again, Isuke felt the need to roll her orange eyes.

"Save it for someone who cares, Nio."

There were many things to say about Hashiri Nio. For one, she was good at coming up with ideas. Whatever the problem, she would have a solution, however it was rarely a good one and it almost never… well, solved anything…

"But this time it's a good one, I promise!" she begged eagerly, and Isuke figured she might as well hear her out. If not, there'd be no end to it.

"Then get to the point already," she snapped.

"What if…" Nio started, a knowing grin spreading across her lips, "You had a girlfriend? Then your parents would stop trying to find someone for you to date, and all those annoying exes of yours would lay off. It'd be like hitting two birds with one stone."

She did actually have a point, but…

"I don't want a girlfriend at all," Isuke stated bluntly. Seriously, her friend should know that by now, as she'd been saying nothing but that for the last couple of months.

"Then how about getting a fake girlfriend?" If it hadn't been for her dead serious expression, she would've laughed at the suggestion. It was too stupid.

What did she think this was? Some lame manga?

What was she supposed to do; find some random girl, take her home and say; "Hey, this is my new girlfriend, so you can stop trying to find me a suitor now."

Yeah, that seemed totally brilliant…

Isuke didn't say any of this out loud, but figured her expression said more than words could. The possibility of something else then came to mind.

"Are you sure you aren't plotting something behind my back?" For all she knew, Nio could be trying to find her a girlfriend, too. Perhaps her Mama and Papa had hired her to help them, because it seemed like something they could do.

"Of course not! I could never lie to you, Isuke. You're my best friend," declared the shorter girl. She smiled brightly and made a peace sign. That was another annoying habit she had. Isuke had always thought she looked like she was constantly posing for a selfie or something…

She didn't buy those words for a second. She was well aware that Nio lied to her almost as much as she lied to Nio.

"Come on, have some faith in me," she continued upon seeing Isuke's far from convinced expression.

"You just have to go out every now and then to make sure people think you're a couple. You don't have to like her; you barely even have to talk to her."

"You know, you sound like you already have someone in mind," she remarked unsurprised. Of course Nio didn't come up with all this on a whim. She had it all planned out.

"What do you have to lose?"

Isuke pondered over that for a minute. What did she have to lose? Just meeting this girl that Nio spoke of couldn't hurt. If she was terrible or Isuke simply decided that it was a dumb idea, she could just tell Nio she changed her mind. Besides, if she didn't get a girlfriend, life would go on as normal, having to meet yet a new girl she didn't like every week or so.

It couldn't hurt.

"Fine, whatever."

* * *

"I hope for your sake that she's at least pretty," Isuke snorted as they walked along the pavement, heading to meet this mysterious acquaintance of Nio's.

"Why for my sake?" Nio asked innocently.

"'Cause if you're wasting my time, I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them," she smiled devilishly. Nio shivered and stepped a bit to the side, gaining some distance from the other girl.

"She's gorgeous, alright," she declared optimistically, a hint of fear still in her voice.

* * *

"Yo, the name's Sagae Haruki. Nice to meet ya, dude."

Isuke immediately frowned. She could tell this girl was just the type of person she couldn't stand. Just her greeting was enough to leave her with a negative impression. In her mind, the slang made the girl seem lazy and rude. Calling someone you'd only just met "dude" was rather disrespectful.

Her appearance didn't exactly make up for her way of speech, either. She was chewing on a pocky while talking, and her style was rather tomboyish and cheap. Not that it looked bad - not that _she _looked bad - but it just wasn't what Isuke would go for. Some blunt, tomboyish girl who couldn't even muster up a proper greeting… She wasn't exactly impressed.

"I'm Inukai Isuke," she corrected, trying her hardest to hide her anger. The girl, Sagae or whatever, looked a little taken aback.

"Isuke? Sounds more like a man's name." It didn't seem like she was trying to insult her. In her mind, it was most likely a mere statement, neither a compliment nor an insult, but it pissed Isuke off, anyway.

"Yeah, and what about it?" she bit back. The redhead held her hands up in excuse, just now realizing her comment had been taken as an insult.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't mean it was a bad name or anything, Inukai-san," she smiled apologetically.

"Call me Isuke-sama, would you?" Although she worded it as a question, it was obvious, judging by her tone, that it was a demand.

"Sorry, Isuke-sama," she corrected herself. When Isuke kept looking just as insulted, she decided to turn to their fellow friend to avoid making the situation worse.

"I assume you didn't call me all the way out here for nothing," she said, "Mind telling me what this is all about?"

Nio reflected on how to present the situation for a while before deciding to be straight forward about it.

"Isuke is in need of a girlfriend, and I thought maybe you'd be a good choice."

Haruki smiled playfully at her friend.

"Playing matchmaker, are we?"

Her face then got more serious.

"But seriously, don't you think that's a little weird? _You_ just asked me to be _her_ girlfriend," she pointed out cleverly, taking out another pocky and putting it into her mouth.

"Fake girlfriend," Nio added, not having realized she left that part out the first time.

"Isuke wants to get her parents off her back, so she's going to pretend to be dating someone for a while."

"I never said that. It was your stupid idea, you know," Isuke pouted, but both of them ignored her.

"I see… I'm sorry, but I have things to do and charity work really isn't my thing, so-" she started explaining.

"She'll pay you."

Isuke nearly yelled out in pure shock. She'd never agreed to that. Heck, she'd never agreed to any of this! Nio had taken full control of the situation, and she wasn't doing a very good job with all of it.

"Paying someone to be your girlfriend? Haven't you heard that money can't buy you everything?" Haruki snickered at Isuke.

"Judging by that cheap nail polish, I'd think buying you off would be easy." It wasn't hard to tell that the pink nail polish wasn't high quality, just like the rest of her outfit. She wasn't very fond of cheap stuff. In most cases, prize meant quality. You couldn't get anywhere in this world without money.

Pink wasn't really her colour either, Isuke added in her mind.

"Ouch," she sang, not offended in the slightest.

"Now, now, you two," Nio interrupted, knowing that if she let their banter continue, it'd only make matters worse on Isuke's side.

"How about 5000 yen a week?" she suggested.

"What!?" Isuke nearly screamed.

"Sold," answered Haruki at the same time, without even a hint of doubt.

"Great!" Nio cheered, clapping her hands together. She looked like she was very pleased with herself at the moment.

Isuke felt the rage boiling inside of her. She wasn't overly enthusiastic about this to begin with. After meeting Sagae Haruki she felt even less up to it, and now she had to _pay_ as well. Hell no!

"Excuse us," Isuke smiled falsely as she dragged Nio away by the collar of her jacket. She stopped a only couple meters away, so Haruki was still in hearing range. Isuke had done it more for the effect than for getting away from Haruki.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked annoyed.

"Fixing your tragic love life, no need to thank me," joked the blonde, trying to ease the tension, which now lay so thick over them that you could almost slice the air with a knife.

"You must really be an idiot…" she sighed, "Deal's off, and I'm going home."

"But Isuke-" Nio began, but she cut her off mid-sentence.

"Don't stick your nose into people's personal lives."

Isuke wasn't up to listening to any more of Nio's silly ideas at the moment. There was no way she would pay that girl to be her girlfriend. She'd rather have her parents pester her, and that said a lot about how little she wanted to go out with Haruki.

Right now, she just wanted to go back home and sleep, hopefully without anyone bothering her.

* * *

It was nearly 2 a.m. and Isuke was still up. She was sitting on her bed, painting her toenails red. She couldn't get today's events out of her head.

Nio… Fake girlfriend… Sagae Haruki…

Thoughts swirled around in her head. She couldn't seem to get a good hold on any of them, though. It was all just a big, confusing mess. She kept wondering what had happened if she'd said yes to the deal. It was a thought that came to mind countless times that night, and every time she shoved it away forcefully, hoping it wouldn't return.

Not making a deal with Sagae Haruki was for the best, she told herself. It would only cause more problems than it'd solve. She couldn't even stand the girl, so how could she even consider it? It was stupid. Completely, utterly and undeniably ridiculous, in fact. She told herself that not making a deal had been the right choice.

Yet, a part of her wasn't so sure.

After finishing up on her nails, she laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was the same as always, and a part of her really hated that. She was so sick and tired of the way everything in her life was at the moment. She wanted everyone to stop nagging her. She wanted her life to change.

"Screw this," she muttered to herself as she closed her eyes and hoped for a better tomorrow that she knew wouldn't come.

She lay awake for what felt like an eternity, but when Isuke finally fell asleep that night, for some reason, she dreamt of pocky and cheap baby-pink nail polish.

* * *

**Yeah, so here's my second fanfic. I'm actually kind of surprised, because normally I lose interest and inspiration so easily, but I just find Akuma no Riddle so entertaining and I love writing fanfiction from it. Wish there were more fanfics, though.**

**Anyway, this will be a multi-chaptered AU that I will try to update as often as possible, but there's no telling how long it'll take as it depends on if I have any spare time or not.**

**If you guys follow/favorite and leave a review it'd make me really happy. Critical response and suggestions are also welcome.**

**By the way, are there any characters and pairings you'd like to see in future chapters? Because I will be bringing in more characters later on. The main focus will still be on Haruki and Isuke, though.**

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Deal With The Devil

That morning, Isuke couldn't muster up the will to eat her breakfast. Her Mama, Eisuke, was a good cook, but that day the food simply didn't taste like it used to.

She hadn't slept well either. She had been restless and thus she had awoken several times. The entire night had been filled with dreams, none that she could remember, however.

She used the chopsticks to shove the rice around the plate, just like a child would with their unwanted vegetables. She glared down at the plate intensely, ignoring her Mama, who was peacefully enjoying his breakfast on the other end of the table.

Isuke poked at a piece of ham. Upon realizing its color was baby-pink, she frowned deeply.

Sagae Haruki… A name she would rather forget.

Why did that girl leave such a strong impression on her, anyway? She had talked to her for maybe two minutes and didn't feel like they got along very well. She seriously didn't like her.

So then why couldn't she get the girl out of her head?

Eisuke cleared his throat, tearing her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Listen, Isuke…" he begun, sighing heavily. He pushed away his empty plate and rested his arms on the table, staring right at his adoptive daughter as he spoke.

"I realize that it's been tough for you… You know, being raised by someone who aren't related to you, and who are gay on top of that. It has put you in a lot of difficult situations over the years; Papa and I can't imagine how tough it's been for you at times."

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time they'd had a conversation like this one. It was cheesy and awkward, and in the end, it didn't do her any good.

"But we really want you to remember that we care about you and we only wish what's best for you," he continued in a serious, yet kind voice.

"Yeah, yeah," she yawned, stretching her arms into the air, "Are we done now? This conversation is making me sleepy."

Eisuke gave her a sharp look that implied he wouldn't accept such behavior.

"Isuke," he said strictly. They stared at each other for a while, until Isuke gave up and looked down.

"Fine, I'm sorry, Mama," she muttered in irritation, pouting slightly because she felt like she had lost an argument.

"I just wish you wouldn't interfere in my personal life all the time," she declared as she stood up and began walking towards the door.

"We believe it would be good for you, Isuke. You're always so reserved, in a way. You don't let anyone get close to you." He actually sounded a little worried, which was rather rare.

While Mama and Papa did a lot for her, she always felt like they somehow did it more for themselves, somehow. Like getting her a girlfriend, for one. The thought was kind, but when she didn't even want one, could you really say they were doing it for her sake?

She wished they wouldn't. She didn't need a girlfriend. She didn't need friends. She didn't need her Mama and Papa. They were all dispensable. She didn't truly need them for anything.

Inukai Isuke didn't need anyone except for herself.

* * *

Nothing could cheer Isuke up the way shopping did.

She now had several new outfits that she could barely wait to wear, as well as some new makeup and gel for her nails.

She was looking forwards to getting home so she could relax on her bed while fixing her nails and maybe listening to some music for the rest of the day.

Normally, on a day like this, she'd probably hang out with Nio, but she didn't feel like talking to her at the moment. Besides, the bubbly blonde often got on her nerves.

This was far better.

Isuke opened the door to her house and walked inside, placing most of her shopping bags in a corner before heading to the living room. As she entered the opulently decorated room she spotted Eisuke standing behind the couch, speaking to someone on the phone.

"Oh, she got home just now!" he erupted as he noticed her being there. He took a short break, listening to the person on the other end.

"Yes, do you want to talk to her?" he asked. She was rather curious now. Most of her so-called friends would call her on her cell if they wanted to talk. She couldn't think of anyone who would call her parents first. Must have been someone who didn't know her number, but who could that be?

"Alright then," he nodded, "I'll make sure to tell her you called. Bye."

Isuke raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Someone I know?" she asked as she passed by on her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah, said she wanted to catch up sometime. You two haven't seen each other in a while," Mama replied, still not answering her question directly.

She found a glass and tapped some water into it.

"Hurry up and tell me who it was already," she demanded.

"You really want to know?" he asked.

What was that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't she want to know who called to talk to her? It involved her, so of course she wanted to know.

"Can't you tell that Isuke's nearly dying from excitement?" she commented drily, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Why couldn't he be more straight forward and just get it over with?

She took a sip of water.

"It was Takechi Otoya-san."

Isuke nearly spit out her water upon hearing that.

* * *

Isuke sat on her bed wondering why Takechi Otoya, of all people, had contacted her. She had barely spoken to her in months, and the last time she did speak to her, she hadn't been all that nice…

Her and Otoya had met through one of her parents' attempt to find her a girlfriend. It had been roughly three months, if she remembered correctly.

At first, Otoya had seemed rather sweet. She was playful in a teasing manner and she was fun to be around. She did also have some annoying traits, though. All in all, Isuke would say she had tolerated the blue eyed girl. They actually dated for a couple of weeks, until Otoya started showing her true colors.

To begin with, she could only see vague signs of it through a couple of comments that Otoya made. Later, when she got to know her better, she would notice that her teasing was more like bullying in some cases. She wasn't overjoyed at the fact, but figured she could live with it, as she wasn't a victim of her bullying.

It wasn't before Otoya revealed some of her rather freaky… fetishes, that Isuke had gotten enough. She'd already realized that Otoya was strange, but the new information kind of scared her, and Isuke wasn't scared off easily. Let's just say that having a girlfriend who was, amongst other things, obsessed with scissors, became too much for her.

After all that, she'd told the girl off rather harshly and avoided speaking to her ever since, which had proved to be challenging since they went to the same school.

Otoya had been difficult to get rid of, but she eventually got the point across. She had left her alone since then, and up until this very day, she had thought that Otoya was over her.

It appeared that wasn't the case.

Damn it, how would she get out of this mess?

She absolutely didn't want to be involved with that lunatic. Otoya was far worse than all the other girls Mama and Papa had introduced her to combined, and there had been some pretty terrible ones.

The main problem was that Otoya only really cared for herself. She didn't seem to think about how other people felt, so even though Isuke didn't want to be with her, she wouldn't give up.

She would most definitely be impossible to get rid of. Just imagining that weirdo following her around, convinced that she still had feelings for her made her want to go dig a deep hole where she could lay down and die.

That's when it hit her.

Even someone like Takechi Otoya would take a hint like that. Anyone would back off if that was the case.

Yes, if only she was already taken, that would get rid of Otoya, and everyone else, for good. She just needed to get a girlfriend.

Now, where to start searching for that bothersome redhead?

* * *

Walking down the street in a quick pace, her orange eyes scanning the area, she finally caught a glimpse of red, waist length curls up ahead. That kind of messy, yet fashionable hairstyle could belong to no one but just the person she was looking for.

She had called Nio a while ago to ask where she could find her, and Nio had been overjoyed to tell her that she was most likely heading home from work and that Isuke could catch up to her taking this route.

"Sagae!" she yelled, making the redhead stop dead in her tracks. Ugh, this was so not the way she wanted to do things. It was everything but classy and elegant. She didn't appear to be her usual confident and teasing self. What was wrong with her?

She turned around and looked at her with wide yellow eyes.

"I-Isuke-sama," the girl stuttered in confusion.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Isuke demanded to know.

"Why?"

Isuke thought Haruki seemed to be the type to come up with a snide remark in a situation like this, however the girl appeared to struggle with finding her voice. She assumed that Haruki was rather surprised to see her again. Isuke would be surprised too, if she was her. After all, she'd made it rather clear the last time that she didn't approve of Nio's plans and that she wanted nothing to do with Haruki.

"I changed my mind about the deal." Haruki eyed her hesitantly.

"You get what Nio promised; 5000 yen each week," she quickly added. While she still wasn't quite sure she wanted this, she knew she hated losing. And having someone like Haruki reject her would definitely be considered a loss.

An awkward silence settled between the two as she considered the suggestion. She had been quick to accept the first time, but Isuke assumed that her impression of her had worsened significantly since then.

"Okay…" she finally agreed. For reasons unknown to her, Isuke felt like she'd just won the lottery.

"But I'd like to add one condition," she snickered smugly, now acting more like the kind of girl Isuke had thought her to be.

And there was the catch, as expected. There was always a catch, wasn't there? So much for winning that lottery…

"I'm not open for suggestions, Sagae. The sum I offered you is more than sufficient," she replied annoyed. She didn't like not having things just the way she wanted them. Then again, most people didn't, she assumed.

"It's not about money, though," said Haruki simply. A small, playful smirk was forming on her lips, and it made her more than a little uneasy.

"Oh?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Since you told me to call you Isuke-sama, why don't you start calling me Haruki?" she winked.

To that, Isuke only rolled her eyes and snorted, making her new girlfriend laugh heartily.

Sagae Haruki was such a pain.

* * *

Haruki smiled to herself.

She came from a big family. She had nine younger siblings and her mother had been ill for quite some time now, so she hadn't been able to go to work nor look after the kids. For this reason, Haruki and the oldest of her siblings, Fuyuka, had been left in charge of the family. Normally, she would be the one taking on different part time jobs in order to feed them, while Fuyuka would stay at home, doing housework and looking after their younger siblings to the best of her ability.

She'd always had to take up several jobs, which took a lot of her time and energy, as well as it ruined all her chances to do well in school or join any clubs.

She felt like her entire life was dedicated to helping her family, and that she missed out on so many things that she really wanted to do. She wanted to study for tests, play sports, go shopping with her friends, go on dates, and the list went on.

Of course she loved her family above anything else and would do anything for them, but part of her wished to enjoy her own life without having to worry about them having enough food on the table every day.

Just the mere idea had always been so unrealistic that she didn't even understand why she bothered fantasizing about it at all.

But now that she had made a deal with Inukai Isuke, her future seemed so much brighter.

5000 yen per week; that was more than she earned on most of her part time jobs, and it wouldn't be nearly as time consuming. Frankly, it was easily earned money. So easily she almost felt like she was utilizing the girl.

She shoved the thought away immediately. She wasn't using anyone. Isuke had been the one who proposed it to her.

She'd been a little suspicious about the pink haired girl from the very beginning. Going to such lengths just to make people stop pestering her? She would call it going overboard. Then again, Isuke did appear like the typical spoiled rich girl who didn't have any real problems in life.

That was probably it, but still…

A voice in the back of her mind kept telling her she was in way over her head. She felt like it'd only end up causing a lot of trouble for her, in the end.

She didn't know precisely what to think of Isuke yet. She wanted to like her, she really did, but the voice just wouldn't shut up. It told her she had made a deal with the devil.

No. She shook her head.

"Man, Haruki, chill out," she told herself with a small chuckle, "Listen to yourself."

This was a good thing for her and her family. She had made the right decision.

This would be great. Her family could eat now. It might not cover all their expenses, but it was certainly a good help. Life would get so much easier from now on, she convinced herself.

Finally it would all get better.

"Finally," she muttered softly.

* * *

**Hello again. Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who showed interest in my stories. Writing is so much fun, but having people read your stories is even better, in my opinion. All your reviews made me so happy.**

**I think I just created the weirdest pairing ever, though. Lol, I can't see Isuke x Otoya ever happening no matter the circumstances. It won't be a real pairing, I just thought Otoya's character fit well for what I had in mind. That being said, she'll be featured in future chapters. I also plan on bringing in some pairings (Sumireko x Mahiru, Hitsugi x Chitaru etc)**

**Anyway, next chapter should be up this weekend (unless something comes up) and thank you for reading! I'm seriously having so much fun writing this fanfic and I hope you're enjoying it as well.**


	3. Nio's Foolproof Guide to Dating

Isuke walked along the pavement, her heels clacking loudly against the hard surface. People that walked by steered away from her upon seeing the expression on her face.

Sure, she was a very beautiful girl, but she could also look rather scary sometimes. Like now, when she was frowning deeply.

Last night, for the first time in a long time, she hadn't dreaded the day that was to come. Haruki was annoying and snarky and totally not her type, but there was something intriguing about her. Isuke had even found herself looking forward to getting to know her better during their set meeting.

Then Nio had called. To no avail, she'd attempted to lie to her, but eventually, Nio found out about their meeting today and invited herself to join them. Realizing there wasn't much she could do about it, she had unwillingly given up.

She checked the time on her phone. She was late by about fifteen minutes, but in her mind, that was a good thing. She called it arriving suitably late. It didn't make her seem overly eager and she would also avoid waiting.

When she got to the café they had agreed to meet at, she spotted a blonde through the window. She was sitting by herself, holding up her phone as she made all sorts of weird poses and faces.

Personally, Isuke had never been fond of the concept of taking selfies. Despite her being very conscious about her appearance, she found taking pictures of herself totally pointless.

She rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the window and into the café. She sat down without greeting the other girl.

"Where's Sagae?" she asked. It annoyed her more than just a little that the other girl was also running late. She'd hoped to avoid waiting, or more specifically, waiting with Nio.

"She's late," Nio simply stated, putting her phone back in her pocket.

"I can see that," she snapped, "I asked where she was."

Nio inched away when Isuke gave her an evil look. She smiled apologetically and waved her arms.

"Dunno. She probably had an errand to run or something."

The taller girl snorted. Since she was paying Haruki to do this, being late to their meeting was like being late for work. Maybe she would threaten to cut her wages if she was late in the future? That might just be a good idea.

Not long after, Nio could let out a relieved sigh upon seeing Haruki walk into the café. She was wearing her usual, kind of tomboyish clothes and had a chocolate pocky sticking out of her mouth. Her long hair was messy from being outside in the wind, but somehow she managed to make even that look good. She tossed her bag onto the floor and flung down on the seat opposite to Isuke and Nio. She crossed her legs and leaned back in the red seat, making herself comfortable.

Looking at her, Isuke felt the corners of her mouth starting to tilt upwards. When she realized this, she pulled herself together quickly, but not before Haruki noticed her small smile.

"Yo," she greeted the two, a smirk playing on her thin lips.

"You're late," the pink haired girl pointed out grumpily, hoping to wipe that smug expression of her face, but the comment didn't seem to faze her in the slightest.

"Sorry Isuke, I had something to take care of."

"It's Isuke_-sama_," she corrected, putting pressure on "-sama" to state her point. Haruki smiled and scratched the back of her head.

"Ah, I forgot," she apologized.

Much to her and Nio's relief, a waiter came over to take their orders. They all each got a cup of green tea, but in addition to that, Haruki got a strawberry parfait and Nio got some melon pan.

"So, about this new arrangement of yours…" Nio began as she took a bite of her melon bread and chewed on it. Isuke wished she'd just get to the point already, but she probably wouldn't. Normally, she took her sweet time with things like these.

"The goal is to make everyone believe you two are dating, right?" she asked and glanced quickly at both of them. Haruki raised her hand as though they were at school.

It sort of felt like Nio was giving them a lesson, Isuke thought to herself.

"Weren't we just going to convince her parents?" she wondered out loud. Nio pointed a finger at her.

"It's easier to make them believe it if everybody believes it," she lectured. It was hard to tell whether she was fooling around or being dead serious. Neither Haruki nor Isuke could always tell when it came to their oddball of a friend.

"Besides, there are some other people you'd rather get of your back, isn't there?" she asked, referring to Isuke, who just shrugged and yawned sleepily. It was way too early in the morning to listen to Nio's rants.

"I think you should try to go out in public every now and then. Hold hands and chat lightly, stuff like that. And Isuke, try to look like you don't want to kill yourself."

She had a point there. Isuke often looked pretty grumpy, whether she was around people or not. No matter, if she kept looking bored and irritated, people wouldn't get the impression that she was in love with Haruki.

"Oh, it's not myself I want to kill," she smirked wickedly, giving the blonde a pointed look. She shuddered anxiously, but kept handing out instructions, pretending she hadn't heard the remark.

"You should get to know each other a little too, maybe exchange phone numbers so you can plan when to go out and stuff."

Haruki chuckled in amusement, placing her elbow on the table and resting her head in her hand.

"Wow, when did you become such a love expert, Nio?" she questioned, still laughing. Obviously, she found Nio's lesson fairly entertaining.

Well, at least one of them was enjoying it, Isuke thought bitterly.

Nio winked playfully and made a peace sign with her fingers.

"Don't question my knowledge, Haruki," she said secretively, making Haruki chuckle. The two of them got along quite well most of the time, but every now and then they would find something to argue about. It also happened that Haruki got a little sick of listening to her for a long time, but she'd either endure it in silence or simply tell her to shut up, which sometimes worked and other times didn't.

Nio stood up abruptly, making both the girls look at her curiously.

"I'm just going to the bathroom for a bit," she explained, "Don't miss me too much."

She waved as she walked away from them. Haruki lifted her hand and waved it lazily in reply.

"We'll try," she grinned. After Nio was out of sight, she leaned further back, stretching her arms above her head, to then rest them on the back of the seat. She gazed up at the ceiling for a while.

"You know, we could just run away while she's in the bathroom," she said. Her voice was serious, but she assumed it was meant as a joke.

Isuke didn't bother to answer. She just kept looking at her nails, which she wanted to paint once she got home. Looking at Haruki's strawberry parfait, she felt like perhaps she should paint them red today.

"Wonder where she gets all of it…" the redhead mumbled to herself as she took a bite of her pocky.

"Huh?" Isuke asked, not quite following her line of thought.

"Nio knows a lot. I'm just kinda wondering how she does," she explained shortly.

"I, for one, don't think she knows what she's talking about in this case," she commented drily. She knew Nio had never dated anyone. She didn't have any first-hand experience to go on, so she was probably just telling them loads of random stuff she came up with in the spur of the moment.

The other girl laughed heartily at her remark.

"That might be," she agreed, "But she does say some intelligent stuff on a rare occasion."

She would have to agree to that. The bubbly girl could come up with some good ideas when she really put her mind to it. Like this fake girlfriend idea of hers, for one. While it was kind of crazy, it might be a good idea, in a way.

"How do you know her anyway?" Haruki asked her, trying to keep the conversation going. That, or maybe she was genuinely curious. Isuke couldn't tell which one it was.

She was just about to answer when Nio returned from the bathroom and came over to sit with them.

"What have you two lovebirds been talking about while I was gone?" she teased playfully, poking Isuke's side.

"Oh nothing," she answered in a sing-song voice, "Just planning your funeral."

Laughing nervously, Nio decided to give up on teasing her for now. She only got everything back with twice the force.

"Well, if you have everything under control here, I think I'll be heading home."

"Leaving so soon?" Isuke asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, but I'll be back to do some more third wheeling later," she giggled as she got up, taking the rest of her melon pan with her.

"Looking forward to it," said Haruki with a wave.

With that, Nio exited the café, leaving the two of them alone.

* * *

Haruki picked up her spoon and dug around in the glass until she caught a strawberry and some whipped cream.

"Man, this entire setup is so weird," she admitted, seemingly in deep thought.

"I don't think I've ever done something this crazy before."

Isuke played with a lock of her hair, twirling it around her finger. Isuke kept her eyes on her hair, while Haruki's yellow orbs were glued to her parfait. Both of them purposely avoided to look at the other, feeling like it'd be too awkward.

"Don't complain; at least you get paid."

Haruki finally straightened up and looked at her interlocutor.

"You're making it sound like you don't benefit from this at all. Not that I really get it, though," she shrugged. She didn't think she'd ever fully understand Inukai Isuke and her view on life. They were just too different in so many aspects.

"Understand what, exactly?" Their eyes met for a moment before Haruki glanced down on her food again.

"Why it's such a big deal. I don't see why your parents trying to find you a girlfriend would be so bad. It only means that they care, right?"

In her mind, that's just how it looked. She would wish the best for her family, too. She wanted her mother and her siblings to be happy. She couldn't imagine Isuke's parents wanting anything but that for her.

"Ah, whatever." She decided to drop it.

"I guess it is a luxury problem, not like I'd understand."

Isuke stopped fiddling with her hair and glared angrily at Haruki.

"You know you aren't the only one with problems, right?"

The redhead's eyebrows furrowed deeply. She hadn't even realized she'd said something to piss the other girl off.

"Everyone has their problems, Haruki, but you make it sound like you're some sort of saint just for helping out your family," she spat.

"I never said-" Haruki began to protest, but she didn't get to finish the sentence.

"How about we both get down from our high horses or whatever? From now on, we're on equal footing and we help each other with our problems through this agreement."

They wordlessly agreed, but the tension had no intention on fading. They sat there in silence for several minutes, neither of them sure how to break the ice after their little argument.

Both of them were grateful when Haruki's phone called. She got up and walked a bit away from the table before answering.

"Hi Fuyuka, great timing," she smiled at her sister. Fuyuka couldn't have had better timing.

"Is something wrong, sis?" asked Fuyuka, a little worried. Haruki could hear noise in the background, most likely from some of her other siblings. There was never a quiet moment in their house, that was for sure.

"No, no, don't worry," she said, trying to reassure her sister by adding a small laugh at the end of the sentence.

"Did you need something?"

"Eh, the tap in the kitchen sink is broken, so the place is kind of flooded, and on top of that the twins are arguing again. It's pretty chaotic, so I was hoping you could hurry back," Fuyuka informed her. She sounded tired, even more so than usual.

"I'll be right there," she promised before hanging up on her little sister. She went back to Isuke, who was waiting at their table.

"Should we call it a day?" she asked as Haruki approached her.

"Yeah, we might as well do that." She was glad that Isuke didn't have anything else planned for today that she'd have to cancel. She'd already been late just this morning.

"I guess you could walk me home, then," said Isuke as she got up.

"What?"

She glanced at her, unable to understand why that came as such a shock.

"It'd be like one of those cliché love stories, plus people would see us hanging out," she pointed out cleverly.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I have to hurry back home." Isuke pouted a little upon hearing this.

"My, you're mean. Don't you want to spend time with your girlfriend?" she whined jokingly. She was aware that she was fooling around, but that she also was frustrated with her.

"You know, you're not a very good girlfriend, Haruki." She put up a hurt façade, which made Haruki have to force herself not to laugh.

"We could walk together for a while, if you want to," she offered.

* * *

"Hey, Isuke-sama, I was wondering…" she trailed off, thinking maybe it would be a little rude to ask.

"Mhm?" When she turned her head, she saw Isuke looking expectantly at her.

They were walking right next to each other, their faces mere inches apart. Haruki blushed as she noticed this, and turned away rapidly so that Isuke wouldn't see her flustered cheeks.

"About the money you said you'd pay me…"

They stopped walking. After she was sure her face was back to its normal color, she looked into Isuke's eyes.

She didn't feel comfortable having her this close. Haruki was normally cool headed and confident, but right now she felt so very vulnerable.

"What? Do you think Isuke won't keep her promise?" she asked playfully. She grabbed a lock of Haruki's hair and played around with it, which made Haruki blush yet again, only this time she didn't manage to hide it.

"Say, do you trust me, Haruki?"

Her teasing tone had disappeared from her voice and the smug expression was wiped off her face, but she kept playing with Haruki's hair, now looking at it instead of at her face. Haruki was surprised at her sudden change of attitude. Isuke was seriously like a rollercoaster, and Haruki wasn't really sure how to deal with her.

Could she trust her? She had a lot of unanswered questions about her, that was for certain. She also didn't always understand her way of thinking or the reasons behind her actions. Isuke was strange and mysterious, but Haruki didn't get the feeling that she was being dishonest with her.

"I… I do," she answered after thinking through it.

Isuke pushed a few strands of hair behind Haruki's ear before letting her hand fall.

"Wrong answer," she whispered, her voice soft and tender. Haruki didn't know her voice could sound so angelic, or that her face could look so innocent. Isuke seemed so serene in that moment that it made it difficult to believe her words, as they were implying the very opposite.

Isuke turned around slowly and walked a few meters away from her. When she turned around again, she was more or less back to her usual self.

"I'll pay you at the end of the week."

"Bye, Isuke-sama," she managed to reply as the girl left.

No, she would definitely never understand Isuke, she figured.

* * *

**Here's the third chapter. I've had so much to do lately, I'm not sure where I even found the time to write this (although it was probably when I was supposed to study…)**

**I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but it might be a while as I have exams coming up. I'll try my best to publish it sometime during the week, though.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you decide to leave a review, 'cause that'd totally make my day.**

**Until next time!**


	4. Black Class

Damn.

She really hated school. The classes were boring, her classmates pissed her off and she didn't learn much of anything, at least not anything _useful_. Whichever way she looked at it, spending any more of her precious time in this depressing room was a complete and utter waste.

People around her were making small talk, mostly about what they had been up to during the vacation last week. She picked up bits and pieces of their conversations without really trying to, and so she learned that Hanabusa Sumireko had been in France, which explained her fancy new clothes and makeup. Kaminaga Kouko had been at home studying all week. No wonder she had nearly perfect grades in every subject.

The door to the classroom opened and their teacher entered. Mizorogi Ataru was a good-looking young man with black hair and dark eyes. As a teacher, he was rather new. In fact, they were his very first class. He was assigned as their homeroom teacher when they first started at Myojo Academy a bit over a year ago, so in some matters he was still inexperienced. However, his friendly demeanor and care for his students more than made up for it. When they first met him, he'd even told them to think of him as an older brother.

Isuke stretched her hands above her head and yawned.

The class slowly settled in their seats and quieted down as Mizorogi-sensei placed his books on his desk. He rested his hands on the surface of the table and leaned on it as he looked at his students.

"Welcome back, everyone! Did you have a good week?" he smiled brightly. Some of the students nodded and greeted him.

"Well, that's lovely," he answered, seemingly eager to move on.

Isuke leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, doing her best to make herself comfortable on the wooden chair. She made a face, wishing the school would allow her to bring her own furniture, like they let Sumireko do because of her frail body.

Isuke thought it was unfair. The girl was obviously just spoiled rotten by her rich parents.

"Now, before we get started, I'm pleased to tell you that we have a new student joining the Black Class as of today."

She never really got the point with that name. Black Class… It just sounded lame. Why couldn't they use letters, like in normal schools? Sure, Myojo Academy was far from a normal school, but it was a bit over the top.

"I know you're all very nice girls, so please make her feel welcome here," he rambled on.

What was the deal with people nowadays? It seemed they could never get to the point.

"I'm guessing you're excited to meet her, so without further ado, here she is," he stated and made a gesture towards the door. A few seconds later, the door was opened and the new student entered.

Isuke didn't even bother to open her eyes and look at her. She wasn't particularly interested in her new classmate. Whoever she was, she was most certainly just as much of a bother as the rest of her classmates.

"Yo." Isuke sat up so abruptly she nearly fell off her chair. She didn't even take notice of how everyone else glanced over at her, surprised by her sudden move. She knew that voice. She knew it all too well.

Just as she'd expected, as she sat up, her orange eyes met a pair of yellow ones. Before her stood Sagae Haruki. She was wearing a red skirt, a white shirt with a bow around her neck and a beige jacket. Her hair was styled the way it usually was, several hairclips keeping the red locks in place, and she had a pocky in her mouth.

She didn't realize she was staring until Mizorogi-sensei cleared his throat awkwardly. She noticed everyone's weird glances and leaned back embarrassedly. Haruki just smiled at her, and after the class had settled yet again, she continued with her introduction.

"I'm Sagae Haruki, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you."

As Haruki introduced herself, Isuke could feel Otoya's sickeningly sweet smile and Sumireko's superior look in her back. With that, as well as Kouko's and Tokaku's cold stares, she could imagine that Haruki didn't feel very welcome. Most of the people in this class weren't all that friendly-looking, in her opinion, that is.

The young teacher stepped forwards.

"I guess we should start working now. You'll all get to know Sagae better after class." He pointed to a seat near the back of the class.

"Sagae, why don't you take a seat over there."

Haruki casually strolled through the classroom and sat down in her appointed seat, seemingly unaffected by the probing eyes of the Black Class students.

Isuke had to concentrate to make sure her head didn't turn towards the back of the class. What was Haruki even doing here all of a sudden?

If Haruki was as poor as she appeared to be, there was no way her family could afford sending her to such a prestigious school. The only other way she could've made it here would be by getting a scholarship, but there was no way she was that smart. Not that she seemed stupid or anything, she just didn't give of the impression that she was some sort of genius.

For the rest of that period, Isuke zoned her teacher and fellow students out completely as she, to no avail, tried to come to a conclusion.

* * *

At lunch, Isuke finally got the time to talk to Haruki. She'd wanted to confront her right away, but Nio had insisted they headed to the cafeteria to get some food first, and Haruki had agreed. After being voted down, she'd grumpily followed them to the cafeteria.

Nio gave Haruki a quick tour on the way. She explained where everything was and how to get to places, which people to talk to and which not to talk to, what to order for lunch and so on. At one point, she mentioned Isuke's ex girlfriend Otoya and talked a bit about how things were between them.

Isuke felt like it was impossible to get a word in, as Nio was chatting nonstop the entire time.

In the cafeteria, she helped herself to a sandwich and some salad. Nio chose her ordinary melon pan, and Haruki seemed to want to try each and every dish on the menu.

"Are you gonna eat all that?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing Haruki's plate. There was no way a girl that size could eat all that food.

She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"I guess I got a little carried away, huh?" she agreed, "It's just that it's free, so I really wanted to enjoy it."

Yet another perk of going to Myojo Academy. Every day, they had a great variety of different dishes that all students could enjoy for free. She assumed Haruki wasn't used to such luxury.

"The food here is amazing, though," Nio butted in, happily munching on her melon pan. Isuke decided now was her chance to ask some of the questions that bothered her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked seriously.

"That sounded pretty harsh," Haruki chuckled, "Don't you want your girlfriend around, Isuke-sama?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Haruki was so stupid, but it was rather cute, in a way.

She was adorably stupid, Isuke settled on.

"Myojo is a school for gifted rich people," she stated.

"Gifted, huh?" Nio chirped playfully, "Then I seriously wonder how you got in."

She made a pout as Nio and Haruki laughed at her. Sure, she didn't have the best grades… No, scratch that. She was failing in several subjects, and in the others she was just barely getting by.

"That's besides the point," she snapped, shutting them up. Their smiles disappeared from their faces.

"It had nothing to do with our agreement, if you're wondering about that," she explained, "I was planning on transferring way before I met you. You see, my previous school was far away from home, so it was more practical to enroll here."

"Still, how did you afford it?" she wondered out loud.

"I'm not really supposed to talk about it," she said with an apologetic smile, wanting to end the conversation at that.

"Unfair," Isuke whined childishly.

"Do we keep secrets from each other now?"

They grinned at each other. Both she and Haruki enjoyed making jokes about their relationship like that.

"They say you can get pretty much whatever you want if you know the right people," said Nio secretively, winking at them. Isuke watched her inquiringly.

She knew that the other girl was in touch with the school somehow, but to think that she'd gotten Haruki enrolled here…

Well, she wouldn't know. Hashiri Nio was one strange individual, there was no doubt about that.

"Guess I'll leave it be for now, then," she shrugged as though it wasn't much of a big deal to her. She was still curious, though.

"Great!" Nio agreed, "Why don't we finish eating, then? There's still a lot of places I wanna show Haruki before class starts."

Nio ended up pretty much swallowing the rest of her food in one bite, but it didn't do her much good as she had to wait for the other two to finish eating before starting her grand tour of the school.

"Hey, Isuke-sama?" Haruki asked out of the blue.

"Mhm?" she muttered.

"Have you ever tried the teriyaki here?" Isuke shook her head in reply.

"It's good. You should try some," Haruki informed, picking up a piece of grilled salmon with her chopsticks before bringing it close to Isuke's face.

Isuke felt her cheeks become warm and realized she was blushing furiously. She quickly turned away from the food and Haruki, crossing her arms over her chest.

"W-what the hell are you doing? I'm not about to let you feed me," she complained, barely managing to keep her voice volume down. Both Haruki and Nio laughed at her.

"Relax, relax," the redhead snickered, "Aren't we dating? There's no harm in sharing our food."

"Idiot," she muttered, blushing even more.

"Isuke would make a good tsundere, don't you think so, Haruki?" Nio giggled.

* * *

Isuke strolled around the halls aimlessly. Fed up with school and people alike, she'd decided to skip the last period. She didn't feel like going to math class at the moment, however she didn't want to head home quite yet. Thus, she ended up walking around the school doing nothing.

She wasn't angry with Haruki or Nio for what happened during lunch, but she still felt flustered just thinking about it.

She didn't understand what was happening to her. She'd always been so confident and quick to come up with snide remarks. She didn't _do_ nervous or embarrassed. Normally, she was the one who did the teasing, but with Haruki, things had been turned upside down.

Parts of her hated this role reversal, but in some ways she kind of liked it. Never before had she met someone who could make her heart race inside her chest, or make her face turn the colour of tomatoes, or make her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

She wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. Perhaps she could say that Haruki's actions had a strong effect on her. No, that wasn't exactly right. She couldn't put her feelings for Haruki into words. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt, either.

"Hey Isuke, wait up!" yelled a voice from behind her. As she turned around, a frown immediately spread across her face.

"Off to a good start this year, Takechi? Skipping already on the first day," she greeted the black haired girl.

"You're one to talk," she chirped back before her face darkened a little.

"Takechi, huh? I'm kinda hurt, I thought we at least were on first name basis," she pouted. She said it rather casually, pretending that she wasn't all that offended, but Isuke could easily tell that she was pissed.

"I honestly thought I made myself clear when I told you to leave me alone. Did Isuke stutter, maybe?"

She didn't have to put in much effort to make her voice sound hostile. For her, that was something that came naturally, especially around people like Otoya.

"Come on, Isuke, you can't mean that," she smiled, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer. She pried her ex's arm off and moved away.

"I mean, it'd suck if things ended like that. We have so many good memories, after all."

"You must have dreamt them up, because none of my memories are all that great," she bit back.

Otoya was so damn stubborn. She simply didn't want to listen to what Isuke had to say.

"So we had a little disagreement or two," the girl shrugged, "Nothing we can't get over together, right? You don't see me bawling over it, so why don't we bury the hatchet?"

"I'm not really the type to kiss and make up," she commented drily, having no interest in Otoya's proposal. Otoya didn't seem too interested in listening to her negative responses either.

"Don't you wanna go do something together this weekend?" she overheard her, inching closer as she talked. Isuke felt extremely uneasy having the sociopathic girl this close to her. Otoya traced her finger along the side of her face. She then cupped her chin gently and gazed at her with a smile so sickeningly sweet it could give you cavities.

For a while, she debated on whether or not slapping the other girl's hand away was a good idea, but before she could come to a conclusion, footsteps could be heard further down the hallway.

As the person got closer, Otoya let go and backed away a few steps, to Isuke's great relief.

"Isuke-sama, there you are!"

She didn't think she had ever been, or would ever again be, that relieved to hear Haruki's voice.

"Mizorogi-sensei was going to give a message to everyone before we left, so he asked me to go find you. Probably not the wisest decision though, 'cause I got lost at least twice while searching for you," she chuckled as she got over to the two. She then became aware of the tensed atmosphere.

"So, what's up?" she asked slowly in order to avoid awkward silence.

"Just taking a break," answered Otoya, "Hey, you're the new girl, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Sagae Haruki." She extended her hand and Otoya shook it friendlily.

"Takechi Otoya, but you can call me Otoya. What's crackin'?"

She offered Haruki a bright smile. The redhead smiled back before she grabbed a firm hold of Isuke's hand. Isuke jumped at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away.

"We should go back to class," she stated as she began walking towards the classroom.

In the corner of her eye, Isuke could see Otoya gaping in shock. If she didn't take a hint now, she wouldn't know what to do.

A triumphant smile crossed her lips as she closed her hand more tightly around Haruki's.

* * *

**Hi again. First off, I'm sorry for the delay, but like I said, I've had a lot to do. I'm hoping to finish the next chapter more quickly, and seeing as I only have one exam this week, I think I'll be able to.**

**Again, thanks to everyone who is reading my story. Reading all your reviews makes me so happy. I'm really glad that you all seem to be enjoying the story.**

**I got this random idea earlier. I was thinking that a SYOC fanfic for this fandom might be cool. Like, a new Black Class with a new target and new assassins. Don't know if I'll ever write it, 'cause I think character portrayal can be pretty tough, but I think it seems like a fun idea. So, I was just wondering what you guys think; could it work out? Would you be interested in submitting a character and/or reading it? Etc. I don't know, just a random idea from my side.**

**Anyway, next chapter will be up as soon as possible, so stay tuned!**


	5. The Memories I Will Treasure

Both of them smiled as they walked down the hall, away from Otoya. Isuke was glad to be away from her and she felt like she'd won over her by proving she'd moved on. Haruki wasn't even sure why she was smiling, but parts of her suspected it was because Isuke did. Seriously, that smile of hers was contagious.

Haruki kept stealing quick glances at her as they walked. She couldn't get enough of that smile. When she made a genuine smile, one out of happiness, she looked even prettier than usual. And because she rarely smiled like that, Haruki found it impossible to keep her eyes off her when she did.

"Thanks for helping me out," Isuke's voice broke the silence, making Haruki jump slightly. At first, she'd thought that she'd been caught gazing at her.

When she heard what the pink haired girl had to say, her shoulders loosened up again and she let out a small sigh of relief.

"I'd be a shitty girlfriend if I didn't," she chuckled playfully, bumping into her side. Isuke spent a second or two regaining her balance after Haruki's push, which had turned out rougher than the strong girl had initially intended.

"Enough with the girlfriend jokes already. It's getting old." Quite honestly, she just wasn't sure she enjoyed the teasing and joking around all that much. Sure, it could be funny sometimes, but parts of it made things seem a little too real to her.

Was she starting to get along with this annoying girl?

Did she want that?

"You know you like it," she argued, but then determined to drop the subject.

"Someday, you'll have to tell me the entire story of you and Otoya."

Isuke nodded absentmindedly. If she happened to remember it long enough to ask again, she could just get Nio to tell her. She didn't feel like telling Haruki such a painfully long story, but she was sure Nio wouldn't mind. She loved listening to her own voice, after all.

"The classroom is this way, right?" Haruki confirmed with her as she started to feel familiar.

"Yeah, just around the corner."

They arrived at the door and Haruki extended her arm to open it. Just then, she noticed she was holding something else in her hand. During the entire walk, their fingers had been intertwined, and neither of them had noticed. They quickly let go of each other and let their hands fall to their sides. Isuke could feel a slight blush creeping onto her face and turned away to hide it.

"We should probably go inside." Haruki was the first to regain her composure and break the ice. She waited for the other girl's reply before entering the classroom.

"Wouldn't want to keep them waiting any longer," Isuke agreed silently, still not looking in her direction.

As Haruki placed her hand on the metal doorknob, she felt cold. She hadn't realized it while they were holding hands, but now her hand felt cold and empty. It was like there was something missing, like she'd been holding her hand her entire life and had just let it go. Not a minute had gone by, yet she already missed holding Isuke's hand in her own.

She shook her head to rid herself of the thought and twisted the doorknob.

* * *

"Oh, there you two are," said the dark haired teacher as they entered the classroom.

Some of the other students threw quick glances in their direction, some perhaps wondering how the two knew each other, others looking to see if Otoya had returned as well, and the rest for no particular reason. Mizorogi-sensei also noticed that they were still missing a student.

"You didn't find Takechi?" He directed his question towards Haruki, who shrugged nonchalantly. In truth, she wasn't sure she should mention that she did run into her. If she did, the young teacher would most likely ask why she didn't return there with them. She wanted to avoid unnecessary questions if she could.

"I see…" he muttered, knowing there wasn't much to do about it. His students weren't the most disciplined group; most of them came and went as they pleased. A couple of times, he'd tried giving the shirkers detention or talking to them about it, but it hadn't done much good in any of the cases, so he decided to cut them some slack. They were old enough to decide for themselves how they wanted to spend their time, after all.

"Well, I have a meeting to attend, so that's it for today, everyone. See you tomorrow," he smiled, dismissing the class. With that, he grabbed his books and headed out in a hurry.

After he left, the Black Class students slowly started getting to their feet, some packing a couple of books into their bags, others chatting casually with each other.

"Hey, Nio, what was that message about?" Haruki asked as she strolled over to the blonde, rudely interrupting her conversation with another redhead. Haruki thought she'd introduced herself as Ichinose Haru, but she might have been wrong.

"Dunno, I kinda spaced out," she waved dismissively, obviously more interested in talking to Haru or whatever her name was.

The snack-loving girl turned away, deciding to let them continue their conversation in peace.

"Seems we missed that one," she shrugged, trying to strike a casual conversation.

"Who cares," Isuke muttered uninterested. School wasn't the most exciting topic the wild-haired girl could have chosen, in her opinion.

"Excuse me Inukai-san and Sagae-san," said a voice. The two turned around, looking into the blank face of Kaminaga Kouko, the representative of the Black Class.

"Mizorogi-sensei made us aware that the school's culture festival is coming up, and he wants our class to make a contribution to the festival," informed the girl with glasses. The way she spoke was formal, making it obvious she was talking to them more out of obligation than personal interest. Kouko was a good class rep and student, but communicating with her fellow students wasn't her strongest trait.

"Like a café or a performance?" asked Isuke grumpily, "How bothersome."

The class rep decided to ignore her complaining.

"Yes, something along those lines. We haven't decided what to go for yet, though," she explained coolly.

"By the way, I advise you to participate, seeing as you're in dire need of the extra credit."

Isuke rolled her eyes as Kouko made her leave.

"Yeah, yeah," she yelled after her before lowering her voice so only Haruki could hear her.

"So lame." Haruki offered her an encouraging smile. She was already looking forward to it. It wasn't something she'd gotten to do before.

Because of her family situation, she had been absent a lot. It had affected her relationship with the other students as well as her grades. She'd always wanted to join a team, which one she wasn't sure, and make friends with someone who had the same interests as her. But having to work so many part time jobs, she'd never found the time.

"I don't know about that, Isuke-sama. I think it sounds like fun," she disagreed, to which Isuke only snorted stubbornly.

"Take it from someone who's already been at a culture festival; it's not. So don't get your hopes up."

Even at her words, Haruki's smile didn't fade. She didn't really care what they did. If it was a play, a maid café or a concert was all the same to her. She just wanted to do something together with her new classmates and make lots of friends in the process. If she was able to do just that, it was more than enough for her.

Or well, there was one more thing she hoped for. She wanted Isuke to have fun at the festival too.

"It'll be fun, trust me," she said as she promised herself to make the festival memorable for both of them.

They may not be dating for real, but that didn't stop her from wanting to make memories.

* * *

On the way home, Isuke found herself taking a detour, stopping outside the convenience store. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to go there, but one way or the other, she'd ended up there anyway.

She was conflicted about what had happened earlier. Sure, it was a good thing if Otoya laid off from now on, that she was certain about. What bothered her was how her brain kept bringing up images of a certain pocky-eating tomboy. She could still feel the warmth of Haruki's hand in her own, but when she clenched her fingers together, they gripped on nothing but air. It felt empty.

She went inside the shop and looked around the shelves for a long while. At last, she ended up getting one item. She paid for it and exited the store again.

Then she headed back home with a piece of pocky in her mouth, holding the package in the same hand that had held Haruki's hand less than an hour ago.

* * *

**So, here's a super short chapter! When I was writing it, I thought of making it longer, but then I figured it'd be better to part it into two chapters, and this is how it turned out.**

**Anyway, I finished my exams today (only have one more test before the vacation starts xD) so I'll have plenty of time to write, I think and hope.**

**Now, let's cross our fingers and hope Isuke won't be expelled this week, even though it's looking kind of dark. I don't wanna see her go just yet… **

**Bye for now!**


	6. All That Glitters is Not Gold

As always, the fifteen-minute walk to school seemed to go by too quickly that morning.

School made her feel tired because it was so boring. She didn't feel like any of it concerned her at all. Being rich, she didn't truly need a good education, and thus, she didn't need to get good grades. Because of this, there wasn't much for her to do at school, except for catching up for lost sleep or fixing her nails.

If she could have, she would have just stayed at home most days, but her parents were determined to make her go, for some reason. It didn't bother them that she failed several subjects, so she didn't get why they bothered to force her to go there at all.

"Yo, Isuke-sama!"

The familiar voice tore Isuke out of her thoughts. She turned to see Haruki waving frantically at her to get her attention.

"You actually remembered that we were gonna walk together," the wild-haired girl said, sounding a little surprised. She muttered a halfhearted confirmation to her statement.

Truth be told, she'd actually forgotten all about it, seeing as Haruki had texted her late last night, when she was already half asleep. Luckily she'd decided to walk this way today.

"Did you sleep well?" Haruki asked, grinning widely. She wasn't sure if she was faking it in case they had any spectators, or if she was actually in a genuinely good mood this morning. Isuke certainly wasn't. She was never much of a morning person.

"Mhm," she mumbled, still kind of sleepy from waking up so early.

"Me too," the girl chirped, "Had a weird dream though."

"Too much sweets right before bed," Isuke commented. Haruki laughed as she rubbed her neck, looking like she'd been busted doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"Mind telling me why you're so chummy?" She was getting more and more certain that she was in a genuinely good mood, and not just keeping up their little act.

"Well…" she begun, not quite sure how to answer the question.

"'Cause you get to walk to school with your beautiful girlfriend, maybe?" she teased in a sing-song voice, batting her eyelashes.

"Ain't that every girl's dream," she replied sarcastically, placing her hands behind her head as she walked. There sure as hell wasn't anything wrong with Isuke's confidence, at least. Tilting her head up slightly, the sun started stinging in her eyes, so she closed them.

"By the way, I thought we were done with the girlfriend jokes?" She opened one eye slightly to catch a glimpse of the other girl as she replied.

"You got to make more of those jokes than I did. It's unfair."

"Whatever. I'm just keeping up the act, like the deal says I should," she waved her off nonchalantly, but deep in her heart, she knew very well that was a lie. No matter how hard she tried to make sure this remained a strictly professional arrangement, she found herself growing more and more attached to this selfish and blunt rich-girl.

Now, it wasn't as if she was head-over-heels in love or anything, but she did care for her. Then again, just what Isuke was to her, she didn't know.

"Good. Glad to know it isn't a complete waste of time and money," she retorted, sounding a bit displeased, for reasons unknown to Haruki.

She didn't quite know how to continue their conversation without upsetting Isuke further, so she decided to leave it at that.

The rest of the way to school, none of them said a word to each other.

* * *

"Good morning!"

Nio's jolly voice gave Isuke an immediate headache. She was already in a bad mood, and having to deal with Nio this early in the morning would not make it any better.

"Hey, Nio," Haruki greeted the girl, who stepped into pace with them.

"Not to be nosy, but-" she started.

"You are nosy," stated Isuke honestly. She wasn't in the mood to have Nio snoop into her private life, but she knew there was no avoiding it.

"You two should start acting more like a couple," she uttered, "No one even knows you're dating."

Well, Otoya must have figured, but no one else had really seen them together all that much.

"I guess," the redhead agreed eventually. There was no point in pretending to date if no one even noticed.

"It's very crowded here." Nio looked around the schoolyard, at all the people walking around, minding their own business.

"Now would be a good time," she decided.

Haruki extended her hand, her fingers gently touching the top of Isuke's hand.

"As good a time as any," Isuke sighed in agreement as she let her hand slide into Haruki's, their fingers intertwining.

At first they didn't look at each other, both of them finding the contact awkward, but as they walked towards their classroom, they became more and more comfortable with it. Eventually, they managed to look at each other and make light conversation. To any bystander, the two would look completely natural.

In the hallway, they passed another pair holding hands.

If Isuke had cared more, she might have asked what was the deal between those two. Kirigaya Hitsugi and Namatame Chitaru were like glued at the hip, always together and often holding hands, just like now.

She found it sort of weird, seeing as Hitsugi was just a little girl. Sometimes she wondered what their relationship was…

"Good morning," Nio greeted them with a wave.

"Good morning, Nio-chan," smiled Hitsugi politely. With her adorable appearance and innocent personality, Hitsugi could melt even the coldest of hearts. Isuke imagined all the things she could get away with had she been so young and sweet.

"Hello, everyone," said Chitaru. While she looked sort of boyish with her short, messy hair and dressed in pants, she had a very feminine demeanor at the same time.

"Aw, this sucks!" Nio erupted suddenly. Four pairs of eyes looked at her with curiosity.

"Everyone is holding hands," she explained, "I feel so alone!"

Hitsugi and Haruki laughed at Nio's half-joking comment. Chitaru cleared her throat.

"Well, we should be leaving. See you guys in class," she said.

"Goodbye," sang Hitsugi as she jogged to keep up with the older girl's long steps.

"Those two are really weird," said the blonde after they were well out of hearing range.

"Don't be so judgmental. They aren't nearly as weird as you, anyway," mocked Isuke, making Nio pout. She could imagine that the girl felt sorry for herself right now, being forever alone and in addition, being the offer of her scorn.

Yet it wasn't as though her feelings would be seriously hurt, so it didn't really matter.

"Still, I feel so lonely," she whined childishly.

"Maybe you should hire a girlfriend," joked Haruki with a wink, urging her to follow her own advice.

Maybe she should, thought Isuke. At least then she might leave them alone.

* * *

Isuke and Haruki were eating their lunch in a comfortable silence. After several derisive comments from Isuke, Nio had finally gone off to find someone else to converse with, much to their relief. Both of them were glad to finally have some peace and quiet.

However, their happiness was short lived.

"Hello, you two."

The class rep approached them, with Shuuto Suzu following close behind.

"May we have a word with you?" asked the girl with glasses, not waiting for a reply before she sat down beside them. Since there only were three chairs, Suzu ended up leaning on the table.

"Make it snappy, would you?" demanded Isuke, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Just as she got rid of one nuisance, another one appeared. Couldn't she at least get to enjoy her lunch without any disturbance?

"Mizorogi-sensei requested that we ask around about what everyone wants to do for the festival," explained Suzu. She used to help out Kouko with her work a lot. Isuke suspected it was more because she wanted to be around her than to help her with her work, but it was none of her business, really.

No matter, she preferred talking to Suzu, as she always appeared friendlier than the class rep.

"Hmm," Haruki thought out loud, "What do you have so far?" She gestured towards the notebook Kouko was holding.

"Hanabusa-san claimed that Banba-san has a good voice, but she doesn't seem up to performing, so I don't think there'll be any singing on the program," informed the blue haired girl, pushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"We wrote down maid café as an option, but there aren't that many who are willing to participate," continued Kouko, looking at the list. Suzu smiled at the two.

"Unless you are up to the task?"

"Count me out," Isuke immediately rejected her, sounding bored. She looked at her nails, trying to decide what color to paint them later.

"What about you, Sagae-san?" asked Suzu.

"It ain't really my scene. Besides, Isuke-sama and I planned to participate in the same thing," she informed them, hinting towards them being close.

"Is that so?" While the blue haired girl's curiosity was sparked, she didn't wish to be rude.

"Doing a play has also been considered. Mizorogi-sensei absolutely wanted us to do Romeo and Juliet," suggested the class rep.

Haruki winked towards Isuke.

"What do you say, Isuke-sama? I imagine we'd do awesome as Romeo and Juliet," she grinned teasingly.

"You'd be a fine Romeo," she played along, faking a smile for the effect. Then, she turned towards Suzu and Kouko, pretending she'd forgotten about them during her flirting banter with Haruki.

"I'm not feeling up to playing any part, seeing as I'd have to learn so many lines, but I guess we could do some stage work," she offered. Both of them looked at her with wide eyes and half-open mouths.

"What is it?" she asked cutely, acting clueless.

They were too taken aback to answer right away. Isuke never offered to do anything. Normally, she'd just say something along the lines of "what a pain" and wander off. She always just shrunk all her duties and let the others do the extra work. This was so out of character of her that they didn't even know how to respond.

"Oh, nothing," Suzu convinced, waving her hands dismissively, "You offering to help is just a bit unexpected, that is all."

"What? I love to help out," she said sarcastically, still acting all cute and innocent.

Kouko decided she'd gotten what she needed and arose from her seat.

"Thanks for your time," she thanked them politely. Her and Suzu began walking.

"Enjoy your lunch," said Suzu as they left. Haruki waved at them with a smile while Isuke continued to eat her food.

"Think we convinced them?" she wondered.

"Seems so. They never were hard to fool, though," Isuke replied.

Haruki grabbed a piece of pocky from the box, waving it around as she spoke.

"I can't help but wonder; why did you offer to help out? Thought selflessness was a foreign concept to you."

She realized a little too late that it may have come off as harsh, but luckily she decided to overlook it.

"They say when you meet the right one, you become a better person. I don't know, I guess I want to seem like I'm nicer when I'm around you," she tried to explain, but she wasn't entirely confident on how to put her thoughts into words.

"Catch my drift?" Haruki nodded after thinking through it for a minute.

"You know, that's pretty deep for someone like you. Perhaps you're changing for real," she teased, punching her shoulder lightly.

"Keep dreaming, Haruki."

* * *

"This was a productive day," Haruki exclaimed as they walked through the schoolyard, hand in hand. Classes were finally done for the day, and they'd gotten to hang out a lot, showing off their relationship to people around them.

"Looks like I have to pay you soon, then," Isuke stated. Right now, it actually felt like it had been worth the money. Especially now, as she was walking so close to Haruki, holding her hand and-

She shook her head. She promised herself not to get too carried away.

The thing with her and Haruki was that sometimes they loathed one another, and in the next second, it felt like they'd been best friends for as long as she could remember, and in the next one, her heart would flutter simply upon touching her.

It was all so confusing.

Haruki stopped walking and grabbed her other hand, turning her around so they stood face to face, their noses only inches apart.

"Think it's too early for a kiss?" she spoke softly, a gentle smile on her lips.

For a short second, Isuke felt as though she was about to faint, but then she regained control of her body. Her entire face felt boiling hot and she was sure she was as red as a tomato. She would have turned around, but couldn't make her body move the way she wanted it to.

"W-what?" she stuttered. She'd meant to make it sound like an irritated growl, but it came out as something closer to a suffocated scream.

The redhead's face cracked up into a wide smile. She let go of Isuke's hands and began laughing hysterically. It looked like she was having difficulties remaining on her feet.

"Sorry," she said through the fits of laughter, "I couldn't help it."

"Idiot!" she hissed angrily, upon realizing she'd only been fooling around. Seriously, that girl had darn near given her a heart attack.

"I was worried for your sanity for a sec, you know."

Haruki didn't think that's what first came to Isuke's mind when she'd said that, but figured she wouldn't argue with her this time.

"You have to admit; it was kind of funny," she said. Isuke folded her arms and snorted stubbornly.

"Not at all."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry, alright?" Even as she apologized, she didn't manage to keep a straight face.

After a little while, she let her arms drop and looked back at the girl, her annoyance vanishing upon the sight of her.

The sunlight hit Haruki's eyes, making them glitter like gold. Isuke had a lot of expensive jewelry, some of it being gold, but she was certain that none of it would sparkle like that in the sun. Haruki's eyes were far more beautiful than all the gold she could ever buy. She had always been so concerned with materialistic things like makeup and clothes that would make her look beautiful, but looking at the girl in front of her, she finally realized what true beauty was.

She was well aware that it sounded ridiculous and cheesy, but that's what went through her mind in that moment.

There was something about that girl that drew her in.

She knew she shouldn't even feel this way.

Just a week ago, she'd been so pissed at her parents for trying to find her a girlfriend. For months, she'd been going on about how she was better off on her own. And Haruki… Heck, Haruki was only in it for the money. Even if Isuke had liked her, there'd be nothing to do about it. Haruki didn't feel that way about her, so even if she…

"Let's just go," she grunted, grabbing her fake girlfriend by the arm and pulling her along.

* * *

"I wonder what's happening over there," Suzu thought out loud.

"Inukai looks rather annoyed, it seems," Kouko observed, not fully as interested as her friend.

"I would say she looks embarrassed," she corrected. They watched Isuke drag Haruki away hurriedly.

"I don't think I've ever seen Inukai-san so serious about anything," spoke Suzu, looking at the couple in the distance. She took a sip from her tea.

"Yeah, except for her nails, maybe," joked Shiena drily. For many reasons, she wasn't very fond of the pink haired girl.

Suzu shook her head at her friends' blindness. Sometimes, they could be so ignorant that they failed to see the obvious. Then again, most people could. Sometimes, that was the easiest solution.

"No, I mean it. Whether she's sleeping through class or walking around with her head held high, she always acts like she doesn't care. It's like she's far above us and our everyday matters don't even concern her in the slightest," she explained.

Isuke was different today. She hadn't been her usual self.

"Didn't you notice how she offered to lend us a hand with the play today? Or how she attended all our classes? How she dragged Sagae-san with her just now?"

Kouko nodded. Of course she'd taken note of all that.

"Yeah, she does seem to be a little more down to earth when she's around Sagae," Shiena agreed thoughtfully.

"Mhm," said Suzu, "That's what love does to you."

* * *

**And that makes the sixth chapter! When I started this project, I was certain I'd give it up rather quickly, but I'm glad I didn't. It's a lot of fun writing. However, it does seem the reviews are dropping slightly in number. Not that I want to sound whiny, but getting reviews is very encouraging, so I hope you decide to leave one if you read :) **

**I'm still considering to write that SYOC, and I also started thinking of a plot for a Sumireko/Mahiru story, but I haven't decided if I'll write either. We'll see.**

**Not much more to say, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Bye!**


	7. What Dwells In Your Heart?

She didn't bother to hurry. Having already overslept, there was no way she'd make it to school in time, anyway.

She guessed she was beyond "suitably late", as well, but considering what they were doing at school, it might be for the better.

She had no interest in the culture festival whatsoever. Heck, she should've just stayed home, pretending to be sick or something. Why hadn't she thought about that earlier? She could've easily gotten away skipping, but if she turned around and went home now, after so many people had seen her, it'd look dumb.

Sighing, she strolled down the hall leading to the classroom.

"Good morning, Inukai. Glad you could join us," greeted Mizorogi-sensei cheerfully at the sight of the fashionable girl. Haruki and Nio waved their greetings, while Otoya glared creepily at her. She huffed and proceeded to find her seat in the front of the class.

Of course they'd given her the worst seat this year, such as always. Sitting in the front row, the teachers could always keep an eye on what you were doing, you couldn't whisper to the person beside you and there weren't many people to copy answers from.

"We all agreed on doing Romeo and Juliet," Mizorogi informed the latecomer, "And we just finished giving out roles."

Romeo and Juliet, huh. It didn't get more cheesy and sappy than that. How pathetic.

"Now, let's all get to work!" he smiled, signalizing for them to get started by clapping his hands together.

Everyone got up and gathered into groups based on what they were doing for the play. Isuke just stood around, seeing as she hadn't been assigned any specific tasks yet.

"Isuke-sama?" Haruki's voice caught her attention.

"You're working on decorations and costumes with me, Banba, Kaminaga and Takechi."

Great… Otoya was in their group.

This was going to be pleasant.

"What's the matter?" asked Haruki obliviously.

"Huh?" she said, not sure what the wild haired girl was referring to.

"You're frowning." Isuke hadn't even been aware of it. However, just the mere thought of working together with Otoya pissed her off.

"Even more deeply than usual," she added smugly, earning herself a light punch from Isuke. She rubbed her arm, pretending it had hurt in hopes of getting an apology. The other girl turned her nose up in her usual, stubborn manner, causing Haruki to chuckle.

"Doesn't matter. I look good no matter what kind of face I'm making," she stated matter-of-factly. Haruki simply kept grinning at her.

"Sure you do, Isuke-sama."

* * *

Mahiru had settled in one of the corners of the gymnasium. She was sitting on her knees, bent over a half-finished poster. Quite early on, she'd volunteered to make the posters for the play, thus avoiding having to talk to any of the others.

She wasn't too comfortable with people. In fact, she didn't like being around them at all. She was too unsure of herself, so in most cases she wouldn't manage to form a complete sentence. Knowing this, most people kept away from the timid girl, leaving her to her own thoughts.

In a way, she figured maybe that was for the best. Another part of her wished she could feel more relaxed around her classmates. She wanted all of them to accept and like her, but she was so scared they wouldn't that she never even talked to them.

"The posters are coming along nicely, Banba-chan," chirped a bright voice. She glimpsed up through her thick, silvery forelock, seeing Takechi Otoya looking down at her.

She gulped nervously, her eyes returning to her work. She hoped they were good enough. If not, someone may start yelling at her… What would she do then?

"Um… Uh, t-thanks, Takechi-san," she stuttered, forcing a small smile, even though the raven haired girl wouldn't see it from where she was standing.

"Ah, this is really annoying!" Otoya suddenly erupted as she dropped down to the floor beside the scarred girl.

She jumped and moved away slightly, to which Otoya responded with patting her back friendlily. Or rather roughly, truth be told.

"I don't wanna do a play. It's so boring," she continued, her false smile still on her lips.

"T-Then what do you wish to do, Takechi-san?" asked Mahiru out of mere politeness. She didn't want to offend Otoya. She was even more scary when she was in a bad mood, she would know. She had first-hand experience on the matter.

"Hmm, I dunno! What do you think, Banba-san?" She moved closer, knowing it frightened her defenseless classmate.

Seriously, teasing her was just too entertaining. She was such an easy target.

"Maybe something that involves cutting?" she suggested. She was convinced she could see pearls of sweat forming on her forehead, somewhere behind her hair. The satisfaction she got knowing she was startling Mahiru made her smile grow even wider.

"Takechi-san?" a silky voice interrupted.

"I suggest you go find something better to do."

Annoyed at the interruption, Otoya got to her feet and strolled over to the blonde.

While she wasn't the most sociable student in the Black Class, Hanabusa Sumireko was most often seen with a smile on her face. However, now, that smile was washed off of her face as she glared at Otoya.

"Why? We were only talking," she smiled, putting on an innocent act that the rich girl didn't seem to buy for a second.

"Tell me, are you acting stupid or are you really just so dense that you can't tell you're bothering Mahiru-san?" she retorted cleverly.

Otoya was a little taken aback, unaware that Sumireko was one to come with such comments. In her eyes, she'd always appeared like a spoilt, yet subtle girl that didn't stick her nose into other people's business.

Deciding to end her little conversation with Mahiru at that, she put some distance between herself and the other two.

"Geez, you're all so boring today," she whined.

Sumireko eyed her coldly, while Mahiru kept staring down at the floor, still shaking slightly.

"I apologize if we do not live up to your expectations, Takechi-san, but please keep in mind that this isn't your personal playground. You can't just do whatever you please."

"Coming from you… You act as though you own the place," she muttered to herself as she walked away.

After Otoya was gone, the blonde slowly bent down beside her friend. She placed her hand carefully on Mahiru's shoulder, making the girl glance up at her for a second before awkwardly returning her gaze to the ground.

"Mahiru-san, are you alright?" she asked softly, her smile starting to return as she looked at her.

"I-I'm fine," she replied a little too quickly, "Thank you."

Sumireko's smile grew wider.

"No need to thank me; I'm just helping out a friend in need."

Looking at the elegant girl, hearing her say something like that, Mahiru felt her heart warm up. Knowing someone cared was such a nice feeling. Especially when that someone was Sumireko.

"Remember, you can talk to me anytime, alright?"

She looked up, her eyes finally meeting Sumireko's insanely blue ones, and nodded gratefully.

* * *

"Poor Banba," Haruki commented on the scene that had just unfolded at the other end of the gymnasium.

"Otoya has always been a bitch," Isuke stated bluntly as she kept spray-painting one of the pillars for the balcony scene.

"Well, at least Hanabusa is nice to her. Ya know, at first I got that typical rich-girl vibe from her, but I guess I jumped to conclusions, huh?" she laughed, feeling a little guilty for having made up her mind about her in advance.

"Hanabusa is nice. She can come off as superficial to some people, but she's a good person."

Isuke wouldn't say she knew her very well. They'd been in the same class since last year, but she'd never talked much to her. Still, she could tell that Sumireko was a kindhearted and sweet girl.

"Just like you, then," Haruki concluded.

"Are you trying to butter me up or something?"

The compliments had been coming at a steady pace all day, along with a couple of jokes and some mockery, but it was odd nevertheless.

"Perhaps I want higher wages," winked Haruki humorously. She pushed aside the finished props and started on some new ones.

"You wish," Isuke replied, "Seriously, why are you so jolly? It's kinda disturbing."

Honestly, she thought it was cute, but like hell she'd ever tell that to anyone. She had trouble enough just admitting it to herself.

"Dunno. I guess I just like working with all this," she shrugged, focusing on the job at hand.

"Why, though? It's so boring," Isuke whined, not seeing how anyone could enjoy painting props and sewing costumes.

"I don't think so."

Then again, maybe it just felt much cooler than it actually was. It was an entirely new experience to her, after all. For as long as she could remember, she'd wanted to be part of something like this. No matter how lame it turned out, she was certain she'd end up having fun with it.

"You're so weird, you know that?" Isuke sighed, still finding it impossible to wrap her mind around it. Haruki's way of thought was totally outlandish to her.

She still felt sort of happy, though. Sure, she was bored as hell and wanted nothing but to go home, but there was this lingering feeling deep in her chest that she recognized as happiness. It was faint, but even so, it was present. She didn't know why she felt that way, for as far as she knew, there was no reason for her to be happy about this.

"We make a good pair, then." Haruki rose to her feet and picked up one of the pillars with ease.

"I'm gonna put these things by the stage. See ya in a bit," she smiled as she left.

She really was enthusiastic about this.

Isuke rested her head in her hand tiredly.

"Wish some of that energy could rub off on me," she muttered to herself.

* * *

"Yo!"

As her mind registered the word, it immediately connected it to Haruki, but as Isuke looked up, that's not who she saw.

"You look down. Bad day?" Isuke felt her frown returning. It was as though it happened on reflex whenever she caught sight of Otoya. She truly did find that girl to be obnoxious.

This was one of those times when Isuke wished she was less appealing. If she was only ugly, or had as little of a personality as Kouko or Mahiru, or maybe if she was annoying like Nio or Otoya… Damn it, she just had to be perfect, didn't she?

"Wish I could say it was fine 'till you got here, but it's been a bad day all over," she sighed, putting away the bottle of spray-paint. Otoya sat down opposite of her, using one of the unpainted pillars as backrest.

"That's mean. Feels like everyone is bitching at me today," she grumbled.

First Sumireko, and now Isuke. What were the odds, huh? This wasn't her day, was it?

"You get what's coming to you, I guess. Why do you even mock Banba?"

Sure, she had to admit she wasn't always all that nice to the timid girl, either, but she wasn't directly bullying her. Besides, Isuke wasn't known for her kindness towards people in general.

Frankly, bitchiness was a part of her personality. She even happened to be rather proud of that, so it was not like she'd ever change, even if she sometimes hurt people or pissed them off.

"Why… That is the million dollar question, isn't it?" asked Otoya philosophically, staring up at the ceiling.

"Why do I make fun of Banba? Why do we have to do this stupid play? Why did we break up?" She gave her a pointed, yet meaningful look.

Isuke looked back at her with tired orange eyes. Couldn't she just drop it? They'd had this conversation a hundred times by now, and it didn't get them anywhere.

"We're done," she stated coldly, "Just face it."

"It's so sad, that's all. Such a good couple breaking up because of trivial matters like that."

Isuke couldn't help but let out a loud laugh at that. Sometimes it was like her and Otoya weren't even talking about the same thing.

"What is it?" Otoya asked sweetly, acting as if she didn't know how far from the truth her last statement had been.

"Trivial matters; right…" she chuckled. It wasn't really all that funny, she just felt the need to let out her feelings. Either that, or she'd probably end up punching Otoya in the face.

"Your parents even said we made a fine couple," she reminisced. That's true. Mama and Papa had been rather fond of Otoya, being unaware of her true self, of course.

"And that's all there ever was to it." Otoya raised her eyebrows, wanting her ex to continue.

"It was all their little setup. Sure, you might have fallen for me, but…" she trailed off, adding a dramatic pause.

"There was never anything in it on my side, so get over it, Takechi."

She smiled triumphantly to herself, but felt the need to add something.

"Besides, I have a new girlfriend now."

For a split second, she thought she could see actual hurt in Otoya's turquoise eyes, before it was turned into complete and utter rage.

The girl stormed off at high speed, slamming the door to the gym closed after her so hard that Isuke half-expected it to fall off the hinges.

Everyone's heads shot up at the sound. After a while, their heads turned to Isuke, questioning looks in their eyes. She just shrugged innocently at them.

Not like it was any of their business.

She had shocked Otoya pretty good, but somehow she knew that it probably hadn't been enough to get rid of her for good. If anything, it might just have made her even more motivated. She was the type who got what she wanted, after all.

One thing, though, Isuke swore; she'd never have her.

Because right now, Isuke was with someone far better.

* * *

**This is actually the first chapter where I have a scene that doesn't involve either Haruki or Isuke. Really wanted to introduce a couple of other characters and start working on the relationship between Sumireko and Mahiru, though. Hope you liked it, at least. Not sure if I'm writing them very well, 'cause I haven't written anything about them before. (But hey, it makes great practice if I decide to write a fic about them soon xD)**

**Decided to use the title for the next episode for this chapter, 'cause it seemed fitting and I couldn't come up with anything else. (I'm also really excited for that episode, but I won't get to watch it before Sunday :/) **

**I'll be gone for a couple of days, but I'm planning to update when I get home on Sunday. See you then.**


	8. A Sky Full of Lights

"The play went great, don't you think? Namatame and Kirigaya really made a good Romeo and Juliet," Haruki babbled cheerfully.

The pair were walking down the hall, heading outside to see the rest of the attractions at the culture festival, now that they had finished their job for the night.

Isuke would have held her hand, so they'd actually look like a couple, but Haruki was too busy waving her arms around energetically as she rambled about the performance.

The redhead kept going on about the play, but Isuke didn't listen. She was too caught up in her own thoughts as she looked at Haruki's smiling face.

She was so into this stuff, and while Isuke couldn't understand why, it made her very happy. Just seeing her smile like that was enough to make her smile too.

In a way, she wanted to ask her just what was so great about this, but she had a feeling she'd get the same answers as before. It was possible that Haruki simply enjoyed this 'cause she'd never gotten to be a normal high school girl, but she had this feeling that there was something more to it.

Perhaps she was reading too much into all of it.

"You should have been on stage," exclaimed Haruki suddenly, "I mean, you only did that little introduction from backstage and the audience loved you."

Isuke couldn't help but roll her eyes. Since she met Haruki, she'd been doing that very often. It had pretty much become a habit by now.

"You're exaggerating everything today. They just laughed, Haruki," she stated. Really, she'd just cracked a little joke. It hadn't been all that funny.

"Fine, fine," she shrugged, trying to ignore the girl's annoyance. "You know, you're being awfully grumpy today. Something the matter?"

So she had noticed her change of behavior, after all.

For the last couple of days, the memory of her argument with Otoya had been hanging over her like a dark cloud, making her extra irritable. She'd attempted to hide it so that no one would ask questions, but apparently, nothing went pass Haruki.

"You're worried about me? That's cute," Isuke snickered teasingly, "I'm flattered, Haruki."

The girl made a sound that sounded like a mix-up between a chuckle and a snort as she chewed on some chocolate pocky.

"If you want to talk about it sometime, I'm all ears, you know," she said more seriously.

Isuke was grateful that she didn't intend to push her any further. If possible, she wanted to keep Haruki out of the drama between her and Otoya.

"Wait up, guys!"

Nio came running after them, not slowing down before she caught up completely. She panted heavily, trying to catch her breath.

Isuke assumed she'd gone straight after them as soon as she had changed out of her costume for the play and into her everyday attire.

"Well done in the play, Nio," Haruki complimented her. Nio had played the part of the friar. While it wasn't the biggest or most important part in the play, just standing in front of such a huge crowd while managing to keep track of your lines was pretty impressive.

"Thanks!" smiled Nio, looking beyond grateful as she received the praise.

Isuke was well aware that the girl didn't get enough attention. Isuke never even listened to her senseless babbling, she didn't have a family, as far as she knew, and not many other friends either. Haruki was, in fact, the only person that was genuinely kind to Nio. Well, most of the time.

"So, where do you wanna go?" asked Nio. Now that she'd rested up for a bit, she was eager to get going again, excitedly bouncing around like a little kid.

"Dunno," replied Haruki, "What's on the program?"

"There was supposed to be a band from one of the other classes, but I think their performance might be done already. Other than that, there is a cosplay café, a short-film festival and fireworks," Nio ranted.

While it was rather neat, she couldn't understand why the blonde had bothered to learn the entire program by heart.

"Lame," Isuke muttered to herself. The other two ignored her, or maybe they didn't even hear her.

"I wanna see the fireworks later," uttered Haruki.

She sent a curious glance in her direction. The pocky-eating girl saw it in the corner of her eye and explained.

"I haven't really found time to go to many festivals. Besides, if I were to bring all my siblings, they'd be hard to keep track of, so I haven't seen fireworks up close ever since I was little."

"What?" Nio erupted in surprise, "That's horrible! Going to a festival and seeing the fireworks is like a human right when you live in Japan."

That girl must have read _way_ too much manga, Isuke figured.

Sure, fireworks was pretty, but it was certainly something you could live without.

"I don't know about that, but…" Haruki trailed off as she began to laugh at Nio, who still looked shocked.

The entire situation was kind of comical, actually. As a matter of fact, it was so ridiculous that Isuke found herself smiling at it.

* * *

It had been about an hour since Nio joined up with them, and Isuke was getting sick of her. Isuke was sure that if people had a measurable annoyingness factor, Nio's would have been high enough to set a new world record.

She walked a few steps behind her friends, trying to shut out Nio's bright voice as she looked around. They had just lit a huge bonfire down on the football field, but they'd decided not to go there, seeing as it was incredibly crowded.

Right now, she just wished for the time to go faster so that she could leave soon. There was absolutely nothing interesting to do, and Nio was being even more chatty, and thus even more bothersome, than usual.

"Hey, Nio," Haruki cut the girl off mid-sentence.

"Huh?" she muttered. Haruki pointed towards a stall-like structure with a long line of customers. Some of the classes used to set up stalls with some food or homemade ornaments to earn extra money for the school.

"Looks like they have lots of customers. Why don't you go buy us something to eat?" she asked.

"Okay!" sang Nio enthusiastically, jogging towards the back of the line.

After a few seconds, Haruki turned around and began walking in the other direction. When she realized that her companion wasn't following her, she stole a quick glance at her over her shoulder.

"Come on," she stated impatiently.

"Are we just leaving her here?" Isuke asked, referring to the short girl at the back of the line, who was jumping up and down, trying to look pass the crowd to find out what they were selling.

It wasn't that she'd feel bad leaving her there, but she hadn't expected Haruki to do that to a friend.

She just shrugged nonchalantly and began walking. Isuke followed her.

"Didn't think you were the type to ditch your friends."

"I could tell you were getting tired," she answered shortly.

So Haruki had left Nio in order to make her happy?

That girl was full of surprises…

* * *

"Where could they have gone off to?" Nio muttered to herself as she made her way through the crowd, being careful not to bump into anyone and drop the food she'd bought.

She wasn't quite sure if they'd just lost her in the crowd, or if they had purposely abandoned her, but she had a feeling it was the later.

Of course she'd found out by now that she drove Isuke insane sometimes. Going a little easy on her wouldn't require much effort, but Nio felt like she sometimes needed to get off her high horse. She couldn't always get everything she wanted.

Caught up in thought, she almost crashed into someone. She sidestepped in the last second, however so did the other person.

Nio stared up into the face of the girl blocking her path.

"Ah, Takechi-san," she said with a small grin, "What's up?"

The taller girl seized her up and down for a moment.

"Not much. You gonna eat all that?" she asked, gesturing towards all the food Nio was carrying.

"No, I just lost track of Haruki and Isuke," she explained. Like most people, she didn't feel well around Takechi Otoya.

"So the little lovebirds ditched you, eh?" smiled Otoya, "I'll help you look for them!"

She extended her hands, grabbing some of the food. Nio didn't bother to thank her for helping her carry the stuff, seeing as she was forcing her company onto her like that.

"What's their story, anyway?" she asked casually as they walked side by side.

"You don't think you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong now, do you?"

Otoya giggled sweetly.

To everyone who didn't know what she was truly like, she'd seem like a very playful, yet cute girl, but Nio knew that she was rotten to the core.

"As if you have the right to lecture me about that," she retorted cleverly, "I just happen to find it suspicious how that chick just comes along like that, and suddenly our head bitch is acting like a love-struck schoolgirl."

Sure, there were a lot of people who thought this to be a good thing for Isuke, and who appreciated her slight change in behavior, but if you observed them closely it was rather suspicious.

No one at Myojo Academy had experienced Isuke caring for anyone but herself. Even towards the many girlfriends she'd had the last year, she'd been cold and uninterested. But then, this tomboyish girl who didn't seem like her type at all unexpectedly transferred into the Black Class. And now… Now Isuke, of all people, went around smiling, holding hands and offering to help people out.

Otoya could definitely see something wrong in that picture.

"What I wanna know, is who this Sagae girl is?" she spoke.

"How would I know?" asked the blonde innocently, shrugging as though it didn't concern her in the slightest.

She absolutely didn't want to ruin their setup, so she'd have to keep her mouth shut. Which was easier said than done, Nio being Nio.

"Hmm, I dunno. Guess I figured a nosy little pain in the ass like yourself would probably know a couple of things."

While she was a little bit insulted by the comment, she chose to ignore it.

"Possibly," she winked, playing along with Otoya's little game, "But what will you do; force the information out of me?"

The girl dwelled on it for a while before replying.

"If it comes down to that."

Nio let out a nervous laugh. She didn't think Otoya would ever seriously hurt her, but she didn't want to be on her bad side, just in case.

"Think I'm scared of you? As if those empty threats would make me spill any secrets," she smirked, hoping to look confident.

Otoya's face lit up, as if she'd gotten some sort of lead. Too late, Nio understood that she may have said too much.

"That implying there are secrets to spill," she smiled wickedly. Her only hope was to keep playing along and hope she didn't read too much into it.

"We all have our secrets, though. Don't we, Takechi-san?"

Abruptly, Otoya stopped. Nio copied her action. The food was shoved back into her arms as Otoya began walking away from her.

"Where are you going?" asked Nio, not understanding what had come over the strange girl all of a sudden. She must have made some sort of connection between Isuke's and Haruki's behaviors and what Nio had just let slip.

"There is still plenty to see around here. I'll take a look around, possibly unveil some secrets in the process." With an evocative look, she strolled off, leaving Nio behind.

* * *

After asking around a bit, she managed to pinpoint the pair's location. She neared them carefully, knowing that if they spotted her, she wouldn't get to know anything. The best way to get information in this case was to eavesdrop.

They were leaving a food stall, Haruki happily munching on some candy she'd gotten.

Isuke had a slight frown on her face, just like usual. Nothing seemed all that different about her, really.

"Want some?" Haruki extended the small bag towards her, but Isuke rejected the offer with a hand-gesture.

Then, to Otoya's surprise, she smiled. The corners of her mouth only tilted slightly upwards, and the smile was gone again as soon as it had appeared, but she'd seen it. Isuke didn't normally smile like that.

"You know," Haruki began. Otoya took a few steps closer and concentrated to hear what the redhead said through all the noise. "Being your girlfriend isn't half as bad as I expected. Weekly wages, plus some candy on the bargain."

At first, she had no clue what that was supposed to mean.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" retorted Isuke. She tried to look insulted, but her already poor act faltered more and more for every second that she looked at Haruki's snickering face.

"I'll let you decide," Haruki winked playfully.

Otoya's mind worked in full speed to try and understand what the two were talking about.

"You're intolerable," Isuke sighed tiredly, "Why did I ever hire you…"

Hire…

Wait! Did that mean what she thought it meant? It had to be that, didn't it?

So that's how it was. Everything made so much sense now.

"Takechi Otoya; back in the game," she grinned to herself.

* * *

They were standing in an open spot. Well, as open as it got with the entire school being present. It had gotten dark outside and the fireworks were about to start.

Haruki looked even more excited now than she had been earlier, if that was even possible. Personally, Isuke was feeling a little grumpy. She hadn't been in very high spirits the last couple of days because of Otoya and the play, and Nio hanging around them all afternoon had completely ruined her mood.

Now, she was getting sleepy and cold.

For her, fashion had always come before comfort, but now she regretted not bringing a jacket. Her bare stomach and legs felt almost numb in the cold night air.

Finding herself shivering slightly, she tried to discreetly warm up by folding her arms around herself. Unfortunately for her, Haruki quickly noticed that something was up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking over at Isuke.

Part of her wanted to whine about the cold and demand that they headed back inside, but she also didn't want to ruin this for Haruki. She'd been looking forward to it so much, and Isuke didn't want to take that little source of happiness away from the poor girl. She already had enough to struggle with on a daily basis.

"Nothing," she muttered, unable to come up with anything more intelligent to say.

"Are you cold?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

The lightly dressed girl was about to protest, but looking at Haruki's expression, she could tell that it was more of a statement than an actual question.

"How could you tell?" she grumbled in annoyance. She didn't like being helpless in any way, and right now, trembling like a leaf, she felt very vulnerable.

"I admit I'm not a genius of any sort, but I'm neither blind nor stupid."

"The later can be discussed," she remarked lightheartedly, "And when I look at that outfit, I'm beginning to question the first one, too."

Haruki didn't feel insulted, knowing Isuke was simply kidding with her. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around the girls slim shoulders.

The warmth immediately helped. It quickly spread through her entire body, warming her on the inside as well as the outside.

Embarrassed and worried that Haruki would now get cold, she wanted to protest, but there was something so nice with wearing Haruki's jacket like that.

Normally, she wouldn't be seen wearing something like that in public, but right then and there, she didn't feel like ever giving it back to its owner.

The first rocket exploded with a loud bang, averting their attention to the sky.

More fireworks soon followed, all of them in different colors. The sky lit up in all the colors of the rainbow. Isuke kind of understood why she had been looking forwards to this so much. It was beautiful.

Her hand subconsciously found its way to Haruki's, her cool fingers wrapping around her warm hand. She didn't even realize what she'd done before the redhead responded by giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

She glanced over at Haruki. The lights from the fireworks reflected in her golden eyes as she gazed up at the sky in complete awe.

Sure, the fireworks were stunning, but they couldn't even compare to Haruki's beauty.

Isuke tugged the jacket more tightly around her, a warm smile spreading across her lips.

* * *

**Hi again, everyone! Finally got home so I could publish this chapter.**

**So, their secret is out now. I sense the final face-off with Otoya coming soon! Probably next chapter, in fact. Isuke's feelings for Haruki are also growing stronger, so it's most likely just a matter of time before she realizes she's falling in love with her for real.**

**I know I've said it before, but thanks to everyone who are reading. I would never have been able to write this without you guys. You're all awesome!**

**Well, I'm gonna stop rambling now… Bye :) **


	9. The Road That Leads to Your Heart

Over the weekend, Otoya'd had tons of time, and she'd put every minute to good use. She had come up with several different schemes to break the fake couple apart. Some of them were sly and sneaky, while others were more direct.

In the end, she'd decided to make it simple.

Today, she'd face them head on, telling them she knew their little secret and that if they didn't drop the act, everyone would get to know they were only faking it.

She could have gone over to Isuke's house during the weekend. That thought had presented itself to her many times, but in the end, she came to a conclusion.

Haruki would make a way easier target.

And speaking of Haruki; she was walking right up ahead. That flaming red mane could belong to none other than the snack-loving tomboy.

How she loathed that girl for stealing what was rightfully hers. Especially in such a rotten way.

All she wanted to do right now was wipe that cocky grin off of Haruki's annoying face.

Concealing all her hatred, she forced a bright smile onto her lips. She sped up into a frisky jog, allowing her to catch up to Haruki, despite her long steps.

"Hi," she chirped, tapping the girl on the shoulder as she slowed down, now walking beside her.

"Yo," she replied, glancing quickly at her.

Haruki didn't seem overly enthusiastic to see her, but it didn't look like she wanted Otoya to get lost either. Frankly, she seemed uninterested, like she was caught up in her own thoughts.

"You're Sagae Haruki, right? Isuke's girlfriend?" she beamed at her, her venomous tone making it obvious that she wasn't just casually asking.

"Yeah, that's right." Haruki ignored the hint, probably on purpose.

It pissed Otoya off how she was entirely unaffected. She'd thought maybe this would be fun, but she'd just been proven wrong.

"Say, Sagae, you wouldn't happen to have a minute?" she asked sweetly, "I've been wanting to talk to you."

The redhead turned to her, arching her eyebrow in question.

"School's about to start, so-" she began to protest despite her newfound curiosity on the matter.

"It's about you and Isuke," declared Otoya, knowing this information would undoubtedly change her mind.

Haruki's curiosity finally got the best of her, and sighing in defeat, she replied.

"Make it quick."

* * *

Since most of the students had already headed to class, they stopped to talk just in front of the entrance. Haruki stood, her bag lazily slung over her shoulder as she waited for the other girl to start talking.

Regardless of having promised to hurry, Otoya took her sweet time. She paced around, eyeing Haruki the way a predator would with its prey. She smiled mischievously as she spoke.

"It's never going to work," she stated out of the blue, earning a confused look.

"What isn't?"

Otoya came to a halt, facing her.

"You and Isuke, of course," she explained, as if she was talking to a child. She smiled triumphantly as she saw Haruki's hands curling into fists.

"I don't think that's any of your business," she spoke through gritted teeth.

So maybe this would be fun, after all. She was slowly starting to learn how to push the girl's buttons.

"I'm only trying to make sure you don't get hurt," she responded, faking hurt. Heck, if someone were to hurt that bitch, it'd be Otoya herself.

"Yeah right." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, "This is stupid. I'm leaving."

"How long do you think it'll last before the lie falls apart?" she rushed, making sure she didn't leave. She'd hoped to drag it out a little longer, but Haruki didn't have the patience.

She turned back around, her eyes wide. The panic on her face was clear as day, and it made Otoya so happy.

"You can't keep up your little act forever, you know. It won't take long before people see through it," she grinned evilly.

"So you know, then," she stated, knowing there was no point in playing dumb at this point.

Damn it, they should have been more careful with this.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you it's bad to lie?" she teased playfully, "I guess I'll tell everyone the truth, if you don't, that is."

Haruki didn't know what to do.

This could ruin everything. If everyone found out, not only would they think badly of her, but she and Isuke would have to break up. That way, she would need to find a new way to aid her family.

And well… she wouldn't get to see Isuke anymore. She was certain that the fashionable girl would want nothing to do with her after this. What was so special about Haruki anyway? What did she have to offer someone like Isuke? After this, Isuke would probably stop talking to her overall.

She didn't want that.

"What will it take to make you keep quiet about it?" she asked, desperate to keep their secret from getting out. Otoya just laughed at her.

"Think I want money or something?" she paused for a while, "I think you know what I want."

Of course she knew.

Otoya wanted her and Isuke to break up so that she might get a second chance.

Then again, Haruki couldn't imagine Isuke ever going back to Otoya, no matter the circumstances. In the end, it didn't really matter what she thought or did. No matter if Isuke was available, there was no way in hell she'd want to be with that psycho. Otoya wouldn't gain anything from this.

"You know what," Haruki said, a smug smile spreading across her lips, "Fuck you."

The dark haired girl gaped at her. She looked like she'd just been punched in the face, or maybe even something worse.

"Isuke and I may not be dating for real, but that doesn't change the fact that she freaking hates you, and that you need to back off," she stated coolly at the aggravated girl.

"As if you have the right to tell me that," Otoya bit back, barely managing to keep her voice down.

Who did she think she was, anyway? She was just some random chick that had waltzed into their school all of a sudden. It wasn't as though her and Isuke had any history, or a real relationship, or anything at all.

She had simply followed the scent of money, ending up in Isuke's life.

She didn't even know her. Otoya knew her. She'd known her ever since they started going to school here. That was over a year ago, now.

She knew how she'd respond in different situations, she knew her deepest thoughts and feelings about all kinds of things, like her family situation and how her parents pushed her to date all these random people. Sure, she'd been one of them, but that was besides the point.

She knew Isuke, but Haruki didn't. She wouldn't accept that.

"I do, 'cause I genuinely care for her," she said, completely unmoved by the comment, "I just want her to be happy. You obviously don't, because if you did, you'd leave her alone."

To her, it was clear that Otoya only cared about herself. Sure, she might have thought she cared about Isuke, but that couldn't be the case. If she did, she'd have backed off by now, because she wasn't wanted.

If Isuke would have been happier without her in her life, Haruki would have left without a second thought.

In her mind, that was considered caring. Putting someone else first, that's what caring was to her.

She wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Before she could even react, she felt something making a rough impact with her face. She brought a hand up to her eye, which had taken the most damage.

It took her a few seconds to realize that Otoya had punched her in the face.

She managed to wrap her mind around the fact just in time to successfully avoid the next hit. Immediately, she braced herself for another hit, but was taken by surprise yet again as Otoya kicked her feet away from under her.

She fell to the ground, landing on her knees. Her hands also collided with the asphalt, the coarse surface ripping off her skin and breaking her nails. Looking down, she realized some of her beloved nails had even begun bleeding, but now was not the time to worry about that.

Haruki wasn't particularly eager to get into a fight, but in this case, Otoya had made the first move. At this point, it'd only be considered self defense.

She grabbed a hold of her ankle, pulling her down with all of her weight. She heard a growl, and so she realized the fall had at least done some damage to her opponent.

Turning around, she saw Otoya clutching her side, but apparently she wasn't severely injured, because in the next second, her foot crashed into Haruki's shoulder. Still on the ground, she delivered a few more inelegant kicks that Haruki more or less managed to avoid.

She crawled over to the kicking girl so she could punch her in the face, but was grabbed a hold of. Otoya spun them around and tried to use her weight to keep Haruki down, but it wasn't easy seeing as Haruki was heavier than her.

The two rolled around, clawing at each other's faces as they both tried to gain the upper hand.

Just when Otoya finally managed to pin her down after getting in a solid punch at the very spot she'd kicked before, they heard voices in the distance.

"Sagae! Takechi!" It was Mizorogi-sensei's voice and it was filled with deep concern for his students.

"Break it up, you guys," he said as he got closer to them.

Relieved that the fight was finally over, Haruki roughly pushed Otoya off of her and sat up dizzily.

Her head was spinning and the pain was so intense she couldn't even tell where it was coming from.

"Wow, what happened here?" She didn't bother to look up, but she recognized the voice as Nio's.

"I think it's for the best if we discuss that later," sighed the teacher, happy to see that no one had gotten very hurt, "Why don't you take Sagae to the nurse's office."

"You can count on me!" declared Nio.

Haruki looked up just in time to see the short blonde do a military salute before rushing over to her.

Some other girls ran towards Otoya. She only recognized one of them, though. It was a girl with glasses and braids, and she believed her name was Kenmochi Shiena. Yeah, that was her name.

Shiena rushed to Otoya's side, attempting to help her up, but she was forcefully pushed away by the angry girl. Otoya spat some blood on the ground and staggered unsteadily to her feet. Then, she said something that made Shiena's worried face distort into a deep frown as she began lecturing the girl she'd been worried about just mere seconds earlier.

She wasn't sure what exactly they were saying, and right now, she couldn't really care less.

Nio struggled to get her to her feet, and it didn't get any better as they began walking. Haruki was leaning on her shoulder for support, but she stumbled and zigzagged around the place under the weight of the taller girl.

"Seriously? Keep that up and you'll both end up getting hurt."

Haruki's heart skipped a beat as she spotted Isuke's smirking face.

For a short second, she forgot about her pain, but it returned soon enough.

"Let me do it," Isuke demanded. Nio scurried away from her and Haruki felt a steady arm wrap around her waist. She leaned against Isuke, not sure if she did it for the support or the closeness.

They started heading back, Isuke making sure the injured girl didn't suddenly fall over. The way she clung to her, one would think her injuries were fatal.

"You sure you won't drop dead before we reach the nurse's office?" Isuke joked sarcastically. She'd placed Haruki's arm over her shoulder to make her steadier, but it didn't help much. Almost carrying her was getting rather heavy.

The redhead laughed drily.

"Are you really that weak?" she teased, to which Isuke scoffed.

"You should cut down on the pocky."

Haruki just rested even more of her weight on her, party to get revenge for the insult and partly because being this close to Isuke felt pretty nice.

It wasn't as though Isuke would ever find out that she didn't really hurt all _that _much.

* * *

"I should kill her," Isuke hissed through gritted teeth. She was practically seething, and had been ever since they got to the nurse's office, which was empty as the school nurse was home with a cold, today of all days.

Haruki didn't know what had come over her all of a sudden, because she'd been completely calm and collected until they got there. Then again, she'd probably been boiling with fury on the inside, but decided to keep it hidden until they were out of sight.

She was attempting to clean one of Haruki's many wounds, but as of now, the wild-haired girl wasn't sure if she was making it better or worse. Her every motion was rough and hasty, expressing parts of the anger she was feeling.

"Ouch," Haruki muttered as she accidently touched her eye while trying to clean a particularly nasty gash.

Otoya had managed to claw up her entire face. It looked like she'd been in a fight with a cat, only worse. That girl sure had sharp nails. Then again, so did Haruki, so she hoped that Otoya's face would look pretty scratched up tomorrow, too.

"If she doesn't look at least as bad as you, I swear I'll go over and beat her dead."

"Calm down, Isuke-sama," she said in a soothing voice. It wasn't that much of a big deal, so she didn't want her to get all worked up about it.

Besides, Isuke kind of freaked her out when she was planning a murder like that. Sometimes, Haruki thought she might seriously go through with it one day.

"You think I'm going to let this pass?" she spat stubbornly, patting one of her cuts with a cotton wad with some disinfectant remedy of some kind.

Okay, so she kind of understood it. She did want her to let it slide, but if it had been Isuke who was full of scratches and grazes and had a black eye, she knew she would react just about the same way.

"It's my fault you got hurt," Isuke stated, putting down the now bloody wad. She looked down with a guilty expression on her face.

It was a little ironic how Haruki felt the need to give her a comforting hug, even though it was she who had been beaten to a pulp.

Still, it looked like Isuke was in far more pain than her.

"Nah, I had it coming," she laughed, trying to ease the girl's guilt. It didn't seem to have any effect, so she tried a different approach.

"Just stay here with me, okay?" she whispered, feeling herself blush. Had she ever even blushed around Isuke before? She couldn't remember.

Just asking this made her feel weak. She was pretty much saying that she needed Isuke with her, thus making her vulnerable. Isuke could very easily reject her proposal.

If she did, it'd hurt her even more now than it would have a few minutes ago. Because now, she'd admitted it, both to herself and to Isuke.

Haruki had always had to be strong. She had to be strong for her mother and for her siblings and for herself. She had to work to feed them and put a smile on her face so they'd be happy.

She'd always been strong, and a part of her was tired of it. She needed someone right now. She needed Isuke to stay with her, if only for a little while.

Isuke didn't say anything. She just smiled, placing her hands on top of Haruki's.

* * *

Haruki looked so much younger while she was asleep. It was as though all the marks from years of struggle and worry were washed off of her face. She looked so calm and serene as she rested on the bed, and Isuke wished she could just stay there forever, looking at her sleeping face.

Her anger had long since disappeared, or maybe she'd just temporarily laid it aside.

Right now, she couldn't think of Otoya, or how things could have gone if she'd told anyone. All of her thought revolved around Haruki.

She thought about how relieved she was that she was alright, how peaceful she looked while she slept, how warm her injured hands felt… All kinds of things. However, all these thoughts were leading to one conclusion. One emotion.

It was a feeling she'd never felt before, well maybe except for towards her parents, but it wasn't the same thing.

It was so different from the way she'd felt about all of her previous girlfriends and boyfriends, or about her friends.

Isuke couldn't imagine herself ever confessing to something like that. Normally, if something like this happened, she would try to push the thought aside, pretending everything was normal. But this time she didn't. Right now, she didn't even want to. She didn't want it to disappear, didn't want the moment to ever come to an end.

She pushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear before she leaned down slowly. Her lips softly brushed against Haruki's forehead.

After a second or two she pulled back, afraid she might wake the girl. As she looked down at her again, she finally realized it.

For the first time in her life, she was falling in love.

She was falling in love with Haruki for real.

* * *

**Well, Isuke finally realized her feelings. Took her long enough xD**

**I originally didn't plan to have that fight between Otoya and Haruki, but then I got a review about the two fighting and Isuke tending to Haruki's injuries, which just sounded so cute I had to add it.**

**Anyway, please tell me what you think. And the next chapter should be up by Monday, probably.**

**See you next chapter!**


	10. Cry While The Rain Pours

"Ugh, why do I have to do this," Isuke complained grumpily, "Do I look like a nurse?"

She removed a bandage and threw it in the nearby garbage can before she started to clean the wound with unsympathetically brutal movements. Haruki winched at the sudden pain, but knew it was best not to complain about it. Isuke's kindness was limited, so she'd better be grateful for the little she got and not ask for any more.

"I admit I'd want to see you in the outfit," she smirked instead, unable to keep herself from imagining the girl in a sexy nurse outfit. It looked so out of place that she couldn't refrain from laughing at the mere picture.

The pink haired girl rolled her eyes as she patched up the injury again.

Haruki enjoyed causing these reactions. She was just so much fun to tease because of it. The eye-rolling, snorting and blushing was ridiculously adorable.

"If you ever get injured, I'll return the favor," she said in a softer voice, because Isuke seemed to be getting pretty annoyed with her and she didn't want to piss her off so much that she left.

She truly was grateful that she had offered to do this for her. For most people it wouldn't be a big deal, but she was aware that for a person like Isuke, such consideration wasn't an everyday thing.

Normally, she'd be much too proud and indifferent to offer her help like that, but she guessed that for once, her guilt had overshadowed it. That, and maybe she did really care for Haruki's health. At least she wanted to believe that was the case.

"What makes you think I would want a clumsy girl as yourself to tend to my injuries?"

That statement was quite ironical considering how Isuke was treating her injuries. She _definitely_ didn't have the right to say that.

"Speaking of, what did your family say when you came home looking like that?" asked Isuke, changing the topic.

When she'd gotten home yesterday, all beaten and bruised, her family had been shocked to say the least. She rarely got herself hurt, and when she did, it was just a little cut or bruise. They'd never seen her get into a serious fight before.

They'd calmed down after she told them it had only been a little misunderstanding and that everything was alright now, though.

"Ah, not much," she lied, not wanting to make her feel even guiltier, "My little brothers look like that pretty much every week, so we're used to it."

At least that last part was true. She loved all her siblings to no extent, but they were real troublemakers, always getting into fights and other difficult situations.

"I never want to meet your family," Isuke stated bluntly, "They sound like a bunch of wild animals."

Haruki laughed heartedly. It was true that sometimes she felt like she was living in a zoo. From time to time she wondered what it'd be like if she was an only child, like Isuke. It'd be peaceful and they would undoubtedly be better off economically. Yet, she wouldn't trade her siblings for something so petty and shallow.

She wouldn't trade them for the world.

"I'm sure they're good people, though," she added more kindly, tearing her out of her thoughts. "After all, they say kids kind of take after their older siblings."

Haruki felt a smile spread across her lips. Compliments from Isuke were rare, and when she got one, it normally either came along with a couple of insults, or it wasn't much of a compliment to begin with.

It was really starting to feel like she was warming up to her. Just the thought of that made her very happy. Their fake relationship aside, she truly did want her and Isuke to become friends for real.

The other girl looked weirdly at her.

"What's with that goofy look? It's kinda creepy," she claimed, furrowing her eyebrows as she inspected Haruki's face.

"It's just that… it was a nice thing to say. That's all," she stuttered a little. She didn't want to point out that kindness was out of character for her, because then she'd return to her old self. Chances were she would, anyway.

"Don't get used to it," she scoffed stubbornly, "I'm only being nice 'cause you're injured."

"You really are tsundere," she laughed. Isuke stuck her nose up and crossed her arms over her chest, making her laugh even harder.

She slowly let her arms fall and looked back at her as she quieted down.

"You really are an idiot, though," she spoke, her voice low and soft.

Haruki wasn't sure if she was still acting all tsundere, or if she was talking about something else.

"Going out of your way to help me. How stupid."

Haruki smiled a little. It hadn't been such a big deal for her, but Isuke seemed to have thought it was a lot.

It surprised her that a girl who was used to getting everything she wanted with a snap of her fingers thought such a little thing to be so great.

"Friends are there for each other in times of need," she stated simply, for she truly did want her and Isuke to be friends for real. All the banter and teasing, as well as the friendly conversations and flirting they did in public were so enjoyable, but one day, Isuke wouldn't need a fake girlfriend anymore.

When that time came, she didn't want them to lose contact. She wanted to remain a part of her life even after this was all over, as long as she wanted it as well.

"Friends, huh?" she smirked, looking intrigued. She twirled a curled lock of pink hair around her finger. "Isuke doesn't really have friends…"

Was that a rejection?

She couldn't really tell if Isuke was being serious or not. She didn't seem all that serious, her tone teasing and a mischievous grin on her face. Also, she sometimes referred to herself in third-person, but that was also mostly when she was fooling around.

Yet, she was getting nervous. It had felt like she was finally opening up, but it might just have been her imagination, or Isuke being nice because she was injured, like she'd said herself.

"But I guess I could make an exception for you," she shrugged, letting out a short laugh upon seeing Haruki's poorly concealed relief.

* * *

The rain was pouring down heavily, and despite having brought an umbrella, she was soaking wet by the time she got to the café.

A doorbell rang as she entered, making the staff and the two customers aware of her arrival.

The silver haired waitress looked her way, only to immediately freeze in her tracks. Hoping to make her relax a little more, Sumireko smiled and waved friendlily.

The waitress gathered all of her courage and marched over to the customer. 'Cause that's all she was; a customer. A customer who should be treated just like all other customers. Yes, that's it.

"Welcome. A t-table for one?" she asked, following the regular procedure.

"Yes, that would be preferable," the blonde smiled brightly, but then she got a better idea. "Or why don't we make it a table for two?"

Mahiru took a quick glance around, deciding on a table that she thought Sumireko would be fine with.

"Eh, right this way please," she said, walking towards the table she'd picked out.

Sumireko followed her as she showed her to a table near the window.

She truly wondered how a timid girl like Mahiru had ended up in the service industry.

While she had to admit that the girl looked beyond adorable in a waitress outfit, she seemed totally misplaced at the café. Sumireko knew she wasn't comfortable conversing with a lot of people, so what was she even doing here?

"What are you doing here, Hanabusa-san?" She jumped at the voice, having completely forgotten about their conversation, if you could even call it that.

Mahiru immediately regretted asking. Upon seeing the surprised look on Sumireko's face, she blushed and looked down.

"S-sorry! That was rude of me…" she muttered. She probably didn't have the right to ask, but she couldn't understand why the girl would be wandering around in the rain like that, or come to a café all by herself, for that matter.

Sumireko glanced out of the window. She hadn't even thought about that…

She'd wanted to talk to Mahiru so much she'd gone out in the rain and visited her at work, but she couldn't just confess to that. That would be creepy, and it would most definitely scare the girl even more.

"I…" she began, trying to come up with a believable excuse, "I was already out when it started raining, and so I decided to take shelter here for a while."

Yeah, that seemed reasonable enough. The explanation seemed to put Mahiru at ease.

"Um… Would you like to order right away?" she waitress continued nervously, still unable to look directly at her.

"Yes. I'd just like a cup of green tea, please," she replied as she sat down in her chair. After hearing this, she basically ran back to the kitchen to get the tea.

Sumireko rested her head in her palm and looked out of the window as she waited. The streets were empty. Of course, any sane person would stay indoors in this weather.

What had possessed her to come here, again?

She could have very well waited until tomorrow. She'd see Mahiru at school then.

What had made her go was a sudden gush of sheer determination. She'd thought about it for months now, but had never been able to gather up the courage, but that day, she'd suddenly felt ready to do it. She'd decided that she'd ask Mahiru out.

She would have wanted to choose a better time and place, but she was scared that if she waited for too long, her newfound courage would fade away.

"H-here you go." For the second time, Sumireko jumped in her seat. The abrupt movement caused the other girl to back away a few steps, before returning to place the cup of tea carefully on the table.

"Thank you, Mahiru-san," she smiled appreciatively, "Say, would you happen to have a moment?"

The waitress tensed up, shaking her head furiously.

"I'm working; I can't," she rushed.

She kept her cool as she gave the boss at the counter a questioning look. The middle aged man smiled and gestured for his worker to settle down and take a break.

Unwillingly, she took a seat opposite to the blonde, who smiled triumphantly and sipped her tea.

"This is quite the cozy place," she complimented, looking around. Sure, for the daughter of an important business company, it was low standard, but she found herself liking the small café nonetheless.

"Yes, it is," Mahiru agreed with a small smile, seemingly starting to relax.

"Perhaps I should visit more often," she thought out loud. She wanted to ease the tension before getting to the point, because she had a feeling that a too direct approach wouldn't work too well with someone like her.

"You should. I-I mean, if you want to," she added nervously. She quite enjoyed Sumireko's company, which was a rare thing for her, but she was always scared of saying the wrong thing.

"It's nice to know I'm wanted," she smiled, "Maybe I will."

She took another sip of tea while thinking about what she should say next.

"It's such a pity that you and I don't spend more time together, Mahiru-san."

"Why is that?" the scarred girl replied uncertainly. She didn't mean to sound rude; she simply didn't want any misunderstandings to occur.

"Because I find you pleasant to be around. Such good company is rare to come across," stated Sumireko honestly. There weren't many people her age that she got along well with, so she didn't have many friends at school. She could strike a friendly conversation with one of her classmates now and then, but didn't have any deeper relations than that.

"Yes, I know what you mean," Mahiru nodded, her eyes now meeting hers. She even held her gaze for a long while, which Sumireko assumed was a good thing. It felt like they were making immense progress over a short period of time.

"Would you maybe like to drink tea with me sometime?" she proposed, trying to sound casual. She would most like to ask her on a real date, but that was way too forwards.

The silver haired girl broke eye-contact with her, her face turning red.

"Ah, I… Um… I really," she stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence. It took some time, but Sumireko finally figured that the girl's senseless babbling was meant to be a no.

"Then… How about we do something else?" she asked, not wanting to give up that easily, "We could go to dinner somewhere, or see a movie, maybe go to a fashion show, or-"

She stopped upon seeing Mahiru's shocked expression.

"T-That sounds like… like a d-date," she whispered, gazing intensely down at the surface of the table.

She hadn't meant to say it like that; it had slipped out by accident. Now she could only hope it wouldn't frighten her…

"I assume…" she trailed off with a nervous laugh.

Mahiru stood up abruptly.

"I really shouldn't," she stated, her voice stronger now than Sumireko had ever heard it before, "I'm sorry."

It took a while before the impact of what Mahiru had just said hit her. She'd been flat out rejected. For once, there was no hesitation in the shy girl's voice. She had made up her mind about it. To her, saying she wouldn't go out with Sumireko was as much of a fact as saying the grass was green.

For a long time, she'd gone around daydreaming about asking her out, and she hadn't done it because she was afraid of being rejected, but never in any of her fantasies had it hurt this much.

She had to get out. Now.

"Well, at least I put myself out there," she laughed lightheartedly. If anything, she didn't want Mahiru to think she was hurt. It'd damage her pride as well as worrying Mahiru, and she didn't want that.

She got up from her seat and put her coat back on. It was still dripping wet from the rain.

"Are you leaving?" asked the waitress, now back to her old self, "I-It's still raining…"

"My clothes are already soaking, so it doesn't get much worse," she claimed, putting on her best smile. Years of attending boring business meetings and formal gatherings she didn't want to take part in had made her a master in the art of faking happiness.

She just had to fake it, like she always had.

How very tired she was of doing just that, though. She wanted to be herself for once, and she'd always felt like she could do that around Mahiru. It was like they had some sort of understanding, she'd always thought.

But perhaps that had been one-sided, just like her feelings.

She stepped out in the chilly afternoon air, cold water running down her face.

The streets were still empty, and she was just as lonely as she'd always been.

At least now she wouldn't have to fake a smile, though, because the rain could hide her tears.

* * *

"Yo, Fuyuka," greeted Haruki as she entered the kitchen, dropping a shopping bag on the bench. She took the groceries out of the bag and began putting them in place. Some ended in the cupboard, others in the tiny fridge, and the rest remained on the bench due to lack of room.

She found it odd how her sister, who was usually polite even to her family, didn't greet her back, so she turned to look at her.

She was sitting on the floor of their combined living room and kitchen, a bunch of letters spread across the floor in front of her. She was gazing down at them, her face hidden by her hair.

Haruki strolled over and sat down opposite to her, glancing down at the mess.

"What's this?"

Her sister peeked up at her through locks of brown hair. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were bright pink. Her face was dry now, but it was clear that she'd been crying just recently.

"I sent the kids out to play," Fuyuka muttered under her breath, not trusting her voice fully. It was still shaking after her crying.

"What? Why?" Haruki was starting to get worried now.

She tried her best to ignore the sneaking suspicion in the back of her mind, not wanting it to be true. It couldn't be true. Not now, when things were going so well for them.

"Fuyuka…" she whispered, picking up some of the letters. She didn't bother to open them, or even check the address they were sent from. She could tell what they were from her sister's reaction. "These are…"

Her voice died out mid-sentence.

"Bills," she finished for her, nodding in confirmation. The older girl let the pieces of paper fall back onto the floor.

"All of them?"

There was no need to answer. She already knew.

Just a couple of days earlier, her long since forgotten dream about buying a table for her family, so they could all eat together, had presented itself to her from nowhere. With the money from Isuke, they'd be able to afford it rather soon, she had thought.

She'd smiled to herself that night, as she thought about enjoying a large meal with her family gathered around a table.

She smiled even as she fell asleep, and she had dreamed about it.

And now…

"Just… Just how bad is it?" she forced herself to ask after a painfully long silence.

"I thought about asking around, maybe I can find someone who will babysit for free and then get a part-time job, but even then…" Fuyuka explained, closing her eyes to keep more tears from falling.

"I could take on another one."

"Don't you have two already?" she asked, obviously not wanting her sister to work even more.

True, technically she had two jobs. Her deal with Isuke, and a weekend job at a grocery store, but she could work in the afternoon and still have some time for Isuke, she hoped.

"We'll figure something out," she promised, not quite believing herself.

Fuyuka leaned forwards, wrapping her arms around her sister's waist and burrowing her face in her hair. Haruki rested her head on top of Fuyuka's, grateful that the younger girl couldn't see the lone tear that rolled down her cheek.

* * *

**Wow, we hit a 100 reviews with the last chapter! You're all awesome and thank you so much for reading.**

**So this chapter explored a bit more of Mahiru's and Sumireko's relationship, which just took a dark turn. You'll see why I made it like that in a couple of chapters, though. But fear not, it'll all be alright in the end (I think xD)**

**I have a plot and a lot of plans for a Mahiru/Sumireko fanfic, but I don't know if I should work on two stories at the same time, so I was thinking I'd start writing when we start nearing the end of this one. (But by the time, the anime will have ended and I don't know if there'll be a lot of people remaining in the fandom. If there are, though, I will most likely write it.)**

**And Haruki's family are back to struggling, so we'll see what they do about that.**

**Might or might not be a little wait for the next chapter, as I have a pretty important test this week, but it is also the last one before the vacation starts.**


	11. What's Hidden Behind The Smile?

"Good morning, Isuke," greeted Eisuke as his daughter entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mama," she replied sleepily, yawning as she sat down by the table, taking a sip of the tea that had already been prepared for her. It was warm, but not too warm to drink, and it contained the perfect amount of honey.

Mama sure knew her well.

Glancing up at him, she observed the strange expression on his face. He was smiling calmly as he watched her drink her tea.

While there was nothing odd about that in itself, something about the way his eyes glinted made her feel uneasy. She could tell something was up, but wasn't sure what. She didn't know how to ask him about it either.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked casually, still eyeing her with a goofy smile covering his sharp face.

Eisuke didn't usually look like that. He was typically the calm and serious one, while his husband could be goofy and awkward.

Isuke rolled her eyes upon thinking about all the times Papa had, accidently or purposely, embarrassed her in front of her friends.

She still loved him just as much, though. In the end, she guessed she still did love them, despite how annoying and controlling they could be. Like Mama had said; they only wanted what was best for their little girl.

"Yes, I did," she answered before her impatience got the best of her, "Now, mind telling Isuke why you're so happy today, hmm?"

She smiled slyly as the middle-aged man chuckled at her.

"Perceptive as always, Isuke," he complimented her, and then his voice turned more secretive, "Well, Papa just happened to bump into someone yesterday…"

She took another sip of her tea, still too sleepy to try and figure it out, or to tell him to hurry it up, for that matter. He would get to the point eventually, unless he died of old age first, that is.

"In fact, it wasn't just a regular someone," he continued, "It was a much respected and successful business man."

Ugh, she truly loathed hearing about business related things. Even Mama, who was usually fairly entertaining to talk to, couldn't make economics, investments and business cooperation sound interesting.

Maybe she should just walk away… She could get some breakfast later, after he left for work or something.

She was just about to get up from her chair when he spoke up again.

"And he just happens to have a daughter your age."

It wasn't before then that Isuke realized she hadn't even mentioned Haruki to her parents, which was strange considering they were the main reason she'd hired a girlfriend in the first place.

The entire thing with Otoya had probably made all of them forget about it for a while.

Well, she had planned to tell them from the beginning, but better late than never.

"Ah, I'm not really interested," she refused politely. She wanted Mama to be happy about her getting a girlfriend, after all, so she probably shouldn't be a bitch right before telling him about Haruki. Wouldn't want him to get a bad impression just because he was in a bad mood on beforehand.

"Isuke, I know you're tired of meeting people, but we think it's about time you get a girlfriend," he said, his voice automatically darkening. He cleared his throat, not wanting to sound harsh.

Both of them were sick of arguing after the past couple of months.

"Besides, Papa even talked to his daughter. He says she seems like a great girl-"

"Sorry, Mama," Isuke cut him off mid-sentence, "But I really can't go out with her."

Eisuke raised his white eyebrows in question.

"You see, I already have a girlfriend."

Isuke hadn't been sure what to expect when she spoke that sentence, but she certainly hadn't foreseen what happened next.

Eisuke didn't even reply, he simply sprinted to the living room to pick get his phone. A short while later she could hear him excitedly discussing something with someone, who she assumed was Papa.

She grinned to herself as she listened to her Mama laughing and chatting lightly. From the corner of her eye, she could see him waving his arms eagerly as he explained something.

He reminded her so much of Papa just then that she couldn't refrain from letting out a low chuckle.

Soon enough, her parents finished their chat and Eisuke returned to the kitchen, now fully composed and acting far more like his usual self.

"Isuke?" he asked. She could still spot a faint smile on his thin lips, which she considered a good thing.

The problem with Otoya was taken care of, and her parents would stop nagging her. Pretty much all of her problems seemed to be in the past now.

Perhaps she could finally get some much needed peace and quiet.

"Mhm?" she muttered, feeling like the peace was already settling over her just like a warm, comfortable blanket would after a long day.

"Papa and I would like to meet this girlfriend of yours. How about you invite her over tonight?"

And then morning came and the blanket was torn away from her.

* * *

"Why did you call me out here?" Haruki asked as she dropped her bag to the floor and sat down in the free seat. She had a piece of pocky in her mouth, like usual.

Isuke couldn't understand why she'd even eat it in the first place. She had tried it a couple of times, and it wasn't all that good. Then again, she was used to living in luxury, so any kind of poor people food wouldn't impress her.

She'd texted Haruki just after her conversation with Eisuke.

At first, she had attempted to talk him out of it, but he was stubborn as a mule. Well, at least she knew where she'd gotten it from. She resembled her Mama in many ways, even though they weren't related.

That aside, he'd been impossible to budge and she'd had to forfeit. After that, she went straight to the café to avoid getting any complicated questions. And while Haruki lived much closer than Isuke did, she'd arrived half an hour later, so Isuke was annoyed, to say the least.

"My my, that's cold," she pouted, feigning hurt, "You're hurting Isuke's feelings, you know."

"Sorry, sorry," Haruki laughed, catching onto the joke, "For being late, as well. I had some things to take care of."

Part of her wanted to ask what, but she didn't want it to seem like she cared_ too_ much. Besides, did she even have the right to ask? Sure, they were friends now, but she wanted to make sure she didn't push it too far.

Because at the end of the day, despite their newfound friendship, Haruki was here because she got paid. She didn't share her feelings.

"I'll forgive you this time, but don't make it a habit. I hate waiting," she claimed, hoping to sound more like her usual self.

She'd just become aware that, if Haruki learned of her true feelings, it would complicate things. And she didn't want that. Things were good like they were, for now.

"I think it's more that you like getting what you want," the redhead snickered playfully.

"So what? There's nothing wrong with being a little selfish from time to time," she stated, joining in on the lighthearted banter, "Besides, someone like me deserves to be treated nicely."

"I'll be sure to treat you well then, Isuke-sama," Haruki winked flirtatiously, making her cheeks heat up. Luckily, she was sort of getting used to Haruki's laid-back persona and teasing remarks, so she didn't blush so much that it would be noticeable.

"I'll be counting on it," she agreed, "Are you gonna order something?"

Isuke thought it was best to change the theme so that this conversation wouldn't develop any further. That, and if they kept bantering she'd never get to ask her to come over tonight.

"Nah, I'm not that hungry." In truth, she hadn't eaten since she had lunch at school yesterday, but there was no way she could tell Isuke about that. And the prices here were ridiculous. Even before they received all those bills earlier that week, she couldn't even dream of offering as much as a coffee from this place.

She glanced over at Isuke's coffee, feeling kind of envious. Not that she even liked coffee all that much; it was far too bitter for her, but she envied the luxury of affording to buy something like it without a second thought.

"Why are you staring down my coffee? What did it ever do to you?" Isuke's voice snapped her out of her fantasies. She removed her gaze from the cup only to stare into Isuke's curious face. She looked like she'd found Haruki's staring beyond strange. Any normal person probably would.

"I've heard that the coffee here is really good," she covered for her bahaviour with a laugh, "I always wanted to try it, but it's so expensive, ya know."

The pink haired girl nodded, seemingly at peace with her explanation.

"It is good. You should try it." That gave her an idea to lighten the mood.

Without saying anything, she quickly snatched the cup and brought it to her lips, downing a large sip of the liquid. She grimaced at the bitterness of the drink, but swallowed it nonetheless.

The next second, the color of Isuke's face changed into that of her hair as she quickly grabbed the cup from her hands and placed it back on the table so roughly that the coffee sloshed over and onto the table.

"Idiot! What are you doing?" she hissed embarrassed. Haruki didn't know if she hadn't discovered how furiously she was blushing or if she just didn't bother hiding it.

"I just came to think of the time I offered you teriyaki. Kinda missed your tsundere side," she laughed, relieved that Isuke had forgotten all about her strange bahaviour. It'd be bad if she was caught spacing out like that.

She simply couldn't bring herself to beg for more money, when she already felt sort of guilty about what she already gotten. It didn't feel like she was earning it, seeing as she was having fun around the girl. It was more like she was doing nothing as Isuke paid her double; with her company and her money.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath as her face began returning to its natural color. "I actually need to ask you something."

"Oh?" Haruki eyed her with a questioning glance, wondering what could be the reason for her sudden change of demeanor.

"I told Mama and Papa about you today," she informed. While Haruki knew it'd come to this sooner or later, it made her kind of nervous.

"What did they say?" she asked carefully.

"They want to meet you, so you'll have to come to dinner at my place tonight."

* * *

Isuke rolled her eyes as she watched the two men running around the house like complete idiots, cleaning, making food and searching for suitable clothes.

She tried telling them not to make a big deal about it, that Haruki would feel uncomfortable, but their excitement had gotten way out of hand.

Eisuke had made dinner for them and their guest, but Isuke thought it looked more like they were inviting twenty people to a party. Her Papa had gotten home from work early and cleaned the entire house so throughout you could almost see your reflection in the floor.

And on top of everything, they'd put on fancy suits and even forced Isuke into wearing a dress. The two men were just as concerned with style and fashion as their daughter, sometimes even more, which said something.

Now, she was worried that the getup would make Haruki nervous. Her parents had freaked out an impressive number of her earlier suitors with their tendencies to take things too far, and those people had been classy rich people. Nothing like Haruki who thought coffee and school lunches were fancy.

The doorbell rung at exactly 08.15, and even though it was fifteen minutes later than their appointment said, it felt like it happened all too soon.

Her Papa pretty much ran for the door, and her Mama followed in a quick pace. Isuke lagged behind on purpose, dreading the moment the door would be opened more and more for each second.

The door opened, revealing Haruki awkwardly standing outside. She was wearing her usual attire, her wild hair in a messy ponytail, but at least she'd dropped the pocky.

"Hello, you must be Isuke's girlfriend," her Papa greeted cheerfully, grabbing Haruki's hand in both of his, shaking it enthusiastically, "My name is Hiroshi; I'm Isuke's Papa."

Haruki looked totally out of it already, with good reason, she'd say. If she had been in Haruki's shoes, Isuke would have punched Hiroshi in the face by now.

"I'm Inukai Eisuke," her Mama greeted more formally.

At first, she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but when Eisuke didn't shake Haruki's extended hand, she knew he was growing skeptical already.

While Papa was always kind and welcoming, Mama would pretty much look for flaws in all of Isuke's suitors. He really wanted to make sure they were worthy of his precious daughter.

"Why don't we go eat?" Hiroshi suggested, sensing his husband's skepticism.

While they walked towards the kitchen, Haruki leaned closer to Isuke.

"What's with the getup?" she whispered so that only the other girl would hear it.

"They tend to go a little overboard," she sighed, looking down at her dress. Sure, she liked to dress up, but this was too much even for her.

"That's an understatement."

"I should have called and warned you," she apologized. Had she known about it in advance, she'd get more time to prepare, and maybe dress up a little to make a better impression on Eisuke. But it was too late for that, so now she could only hope he'd like her more after talking to her…

* * *

"Wow," Haruki gasped upon seeing all the various dishes on the large dinner table.

Her Papa laughed as they sat down.

"Looks tasty, huh? We prepared a home cooked meal especially for this occasion," he smiled friendlily, beginning to help himself to the delicious-looking food.

"Mama is a good cook, you see," Isuke uttered, helping her Papa keeping the mood up, "and Papa… not so much."

"Hey now, Isuke, Papa tries his best," he argued, still smiling. He was used to his daughter's sometimes rude comments by now, so he didn't really mind.

"You sure do, but I do think you've been overdoing it today," she exclaimed casually, while deep down she felt like yelling at them for it.

"Naturally," Eisuke replied.

"This is the first time Isuke has brought a girl home, after all," Hiroshi said, offering Haruki a bright smile. She was about to come with a response when Eisuke spoke up again.

"We weren't expecting it to happen anytime soon… and we weren't really expecting her to bring home someone so-"

Hiroshi decided to stop his husband at that. It would be too bad if he ruined the entire night this early, and without giving the girl a chance.

"So, Sagae-san, what do your parents do?"

Haruki looked down at the food, her eyes darkening a little. Her family was a sore spot, but of course they couldn't know that. Isuke's Papa seemed to be doing his best to make friendly conversation.

"Well, my dad is… he isn't around," she managed to mutter, "And my mom doesn't work at the moment."

Eisuke snorted silently, obviously not very impressed, while Hiroshi looked unaffected yet somewhat intrigued.

"What about you, Sagae-san?" asked the white haired man, "Have any plans for the future? Are you going to college?"

"Well, we can't really afford anything that pricy and since I have to work a lot, my grades aren't much to brag about," she laughed innocently. Isuke could tell that she knew this wasn't going well, too.

"I see," he nodded simply.

Isuke glanced over at the clock on the wall, realizing this would be a very long night.

* * *

Things had only gotten worse and worse throughout the night.

Eisuke had gotten more and more grumpy for every answer Haruki gave to his questions, so Hiroshi had attempted to lighten the mood by asking awkward questions about Haruki and Isuke's relationship, like how they got to know each other and who asked who out, which had resulted in a huge mess as they'd have to make it up on the spot, and their answers never matched up. In the end, they had both ended up looking like clumsy idiots.

At one point, Isuke had kicked Haruki's leg under the table to keep her from calling her Mama "dude" for the second time that night, which had caused her to spill water all over the table and Hiroshi's suit.

As they stood by the door, just about ready to see Haruki off for the night, she felt a great gush of relief that it was all over, but the uneasy feeling stayed put.

Papa seemed to have forgiven Haruki for all her stupid answers, stuttering and even the water-spilling, but Mama wasn't so accepting.

"It was nice meeting you," Haruki awkwardly muttered, "Thanks for having me over."

"The pleasure was all ours," Papa smiled genuinely.

"Indeed." Eisuke's voice was laced with reluctance, as though he could barely force the words out of his mouth.

Isuke couldn't stand it anymore, so she opened the door for Haruki and halfway pushed her out as she waved goodbye, firmly shutting the door behind her.

"Sweet girl," Papa commented after a short silence.

"Are you serious, Hiroshi? Did you hear the way she talked? Or see the way she dressed and all those clawing marks in her face?"

Isuke had hoped he wouldn't notice as they were beginning to fade, but Eisuke was pretty perceptive.

"And she doesn't have any plans for the future, or any money, or anything," he listed grumpily before turning to his daughter, "Are you really serious about that girl?"

What should she answer? It was clear that he wanted her to say no, and saying yes would mean she'd be stuck with Haruki for a while. It'd be weird if she claimed to be dead serious about their relationship, and then a month later Haruki wanted to drop the deal. Then again, if she said no it'd really be no point in paying her to do this at all.

Was she really serious about Haruki, anyway?

"She's a nice person, Mama," she assured him instead of directly answering the question.

"I'm sure she is," Eisuke nodded, "but that doesn't change the fact that Sagae Haruki is completely unfit for you."

* * *

**So this chapter took me a while, but my exam went well so I figured it was worth putting the story aside for a couple of days. But I'm back now, with tons of time to write.**

**I also thought Isuke should call her parents Mama and Papa, like in the anime and the manga. It was something that I didn't think of at the beginning of this story, but I wanted to have it like that, so I'm adding it. I'm currently reading through the other chapters to edit it in them as well.**


	12. Realizations And Confessions

"I'm sorry."

Those were the first words that escaped Haruki's lips after she answered her phone. They sounded heavy, full of guilt and regret.

Had she still been in the same room as her, Isuke would have punched her.

"I must have made a shitty first impression, huh?" Haruki sighed tiredly, "I guess I've been pretty out of it lately. I'm sorry."

That idiot…

Haruki had nothing to apologize for. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Mama was at fault for being so harsh to her. Isuke was at fault for not preparing for this. Haruki wasn't at fault for anything, and yet, she sounded the most guilty. Isuke couldn't handle her being like that.

"Don't apologize, idiot," she said in her typical fashion, rolling her eyes even though Haruki couldn't see her.

"But Isuke-sama-" she started to protest, but Isuke cut her off.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Mama and Papa were just being stubborn." Well, Mama had been stubborn. Papa actually seemed rather fond of Haruki, but that didn't really matter at all, seeing as Eisuke always got the last word.

"Are you alright?" Isuke asked hesitantly. It wasn't normally a question she'd ask anyone. It implied caring and worrying; two things Isuke normally didn't do.

Haruki simply hadn't been herself the last couple of days. It was like she was in a different world sometimes. There must have been something pretty serious on her mind to make her act like that.

"I'm sorry that I've been spacing out so much lately," she apologized sincerely.

Isuke wished she'd stop doing that.

"Stop apologizing already," she whined, "It's not your fault."

This felt so foreign to her. Showing concern and trying to soothe someone who was upset. She didn't remember ever doing this before, and she probably hadn't, either.

It wasn't very Isuke-like, but she'd go out of her way just this time, for Haruki.

The silence in the other end lasted for so long that Isuke wondered if she was still there.

"Haruki?" she eventually said. The only answer she got came in the form of another sigh.

"They don't like me very much, do they?" Haruki asked. Not that she needed to hear the answer, because it had been fairly obvious that Eisuke hadn't been especially impressed.

"It's not about you. I don't think it would have mattered to Mama no matter how you acted tonight," Isuke stated.

Mama had high expectations, that was for certain, and one of the most important of those expectations was wealth. He only wanted his daughter to be with someone who was classy, rich and had many connections. Isuke being with a poor girl with a difficult home-situation and no plans for the future wasn't even an option in his mind.

She should have thought about this before making the deal with Haruki, but she hadn't realized just how important money was to him back then. And besides, she couldn't say she regretted meeting Haruki.

"They just want me to be with some high-class rich girl."

There was another painfully long silence.

"And what do you want?" Her voice was soft, barely audible. It wasn't like her usual teasing and joking; it was a serious question this time.

She knew the answer all too well.

Isuke didn't want to be with the son or daughter of one of her parents' wealthy colleagues.

There was no doubt in her mind; she wanted to be with Haruki.

"Isuke loves money," she joked playfully, avoiding the question. She didn't want to say it right now, but soon… Soon she'd tell Haruki how she felt. "But I don't want what Mama and Papa wish for me."

"I see," Haruki replied. Isuke was genuinely curious as to what answer she'd hoped for, and she hoped it was the answer she intended to give her soon.

"Hey, Haruki?" she muttered, laying down on her bed.

"Yeah?"

She looked over at her nightstand, where she'd put a bottle of nail gel. It was the same color that Haruki had used the first time she met her.

Isuke found herself smiling at the memory.

When she thought about it now, baby-pink really wasn't a bad color. In fact, it might even suit Haruki rather well.

"Promise me not to worry too much about it, okay? We'll work it out somehow," she promised. She wasn't quite sure how to do it yet, but she knew where to start.

The next time they met, she'd confess her feelings to Haruki.

"Alright," she agreed, "Goodnight, Isuke-sama."

* * *

"Sup?"

Shiena looked up from her book, slightly annoyed by the interruption. The main reason she'd gone to the library in the first place was to get some peace.

A frown spread across her face when she spotted the owner of the voice. Black hair tied up in a ponytail, greenish blue eyes, an ever-present smile on her lips. Standing before her was none other than Takechi Otoya.

"What are you doing here, Takechi?" she asked coldly.

After she'd picked a fight with Sagae Haruki over Isuke, she didn't really want anything to do with her.

Shiena had always hated people like her. People that bullied. People that hurt others' feelings. People that never thought of how their actions would affect others.

So why… Why did Otoya make her feel this way?

She could be angry with her when she did something stupid, sure, but she could never hate her. Sometimes she tried hating her, tried telling herself that she was a bad person, but she just couldn't. She could never hate her.

And when she did what she did, Shiena hadn't thought about how moronic she was for doing it, or felt sorry for Haruki or Isuke. The first thing to come to mind had been if Otoya was alright.

Why did she care so much about her, anyway?

"My, that's cold," she giggled, "But I guess I deserve it." She rubbed the back of her head as she laughed guiltily.

"You most certainly do," the brunette replied matter-of-factly, not interested in her jokes or insincere excuses or whatever she was there for.

If she talked to her long enough, she'd end up forgiving her. And then, she'd end up going back to liking her, and she'd get hurt again.

Wait, where did that thought come from?

Did she really like Otoya that way? She'd found herself wondering that many times. Were those feelings, that only she could stir up within her, a part of being in love?

"Well, there's a test next week, and I noticed that you left your books behind at school," she started awkwardly, "And I thought that maybe you needed to practice, so I brought you my book."

She extended the hand in which she held a thick textbook.

It was true that Shiena had forgotten all about the test, but she wasn't about to accept help from her classmate.

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard," she bluntly exclaimed, turning away from her outstretched hand.

Otoya wasn't that nice. She didn't go out of her way to do things for others that didn't somehow benefit her. There was no doubt that she had ulterior motives.

Deciding this wasn't worth her time or effort, she began walking away, planning to return to her book.

"Wait!" she yelled after her, "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Those words made Shiena stop dead in her tracks. She didn't expect that. Takechi Otoya openly and honestly apologizing for her actions, and to her of all people.

Slowly, she turned back around, and as she did, a small smile appeared on Otoya's lips. She walked over to the closest chair and settled down.

"I must have looked pretty silly, huh?" Otoya claimed, still smiling, "Pining over a girl I didn't even like…"

Shiena looked at her questioningly. To her, she'd seemed very into Isuke. Whether her feelings towards the pink haired girl could be classified as romantic, or whether it was lust, or mere interest, she wasn't quite sure. However, she'd been convinced that she felt something for Isuke, and deep down, she knew she had been jealous.

"What Sagae said really pissed me off at the time," she said, looking at the ceiling, "But after calming down I began thinking about it. In the end, I realized something."

"Which was?" Shiena urged her on, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"I never really liked her to begin with. I just liked the thought of her, I guess," she sighed, "Yet, I never cared for her; not like Sagae does."

She nodded in agreement. That made sense, considering what kind of person Otoya was. She imagined she wasn't someone who started caring for someone easily.

"So… I'm really sorry, I mean it."

"I forgive you, Takechi. Just… try not to do something like that again, okay?" she begged.

"Alright!" Otoya chirped with a bright smile.

Before she could do anything to avoid it, Otoya wrapped her arms firmly around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She squirmed to get loose, but she wasn't nearly as strong as the other girl.

"Thank you, Shiena-chan," Otoya laughed as she hugged her.

Finally, Shiena managed to untangle her arms from her waist and push her away.

"Thanks for what?" she asked, getting a feeling that her gratitude wasn't the sole result of Shiena forgiving her.

The girl straightened up and ran a hand through her raven hair, that was now a total mess thanks to Shiena's attempts to free herself from her embrace.

"Thanks for caring about me," she explained before she turned around and jogged away, not allowing Shiena to speak another word.

So she had noticed, even through all of her complaining and scolding… That must have meant something, right?

She picked up the book that Otoya had left on a nearby table. Glancing down at it, she smiled ever so slightly.

Otoya had cared enough to stop by with a book, apologize for what she'd done, and even thank her for caring.

"You care too, don't you?" she smiled to herself, "You know… You're wrong to thank me, 'cause I should be the one thanking you, Otoya."

* * *

Her mother had been in the hospital for a long time now, and even though her condition had been rather stable, the kids couldn't help but worry.

Haruki was seated in a chair by her mother's bed when she woke up.

She opened her brown eyes, smiling widely upon seeing her oldest daughter.

"Hey sweetie," she muttered, still not fully awake.

"Hi mom," Haruki replied, stroking her mother's cheek gently.

"How are you holding up back home? The doctors say my new medicine is pretty expensive."

She sounded worried, and Haruki didn't want her to be. She was lying here, completely helpless, and all she could do was worry about her children and feel guilty that she wasn't able to take care of them. It just wasn't fair.

"We're alright, mom. Don't worry," she reassured her with a smile.

Her mother looked at her for a while.

"There has been something different about you lately," she stated, "I can see that you're worried, but despite that your smile is so genuine now. It wasn't always like that…"

She had never even known that her mother had seen through her act. She'd always thought she'd bought it, just like everyone else.

She was about to protest, but she was forestalled.

"You're my daughter; don't you think I know when you're lying?" she chuckled weakly. Haruki gave up on denying it and just settled to stroking her mother's hair gently.

"You know, the days here get long and boring," she spoke, "How about you tell me something nice? Like what's making you so happy even through all of this?"

Haruki pondered over it for a minute. She had always told her mother everything, but in this case she didn't fully understand things herself. Then again, if she could make her happy by telling her about Isuke, it was alright.

"I guess you could say I met someone," she started.

"Oh?" Her mother sounded curious, and much more awake than she usually did, which encouraged Haruki to keep talking.

"Nio introduced us a while back. Her name is Inukai Isuke."

She continued from there, telling her mother just about everything that had happened since they met, down to every little detail. However, she deliberately left out the part about them being in a fake relationship and Isuke paying her, so she had to alter a few parts of her explanation.

She told her about the culture festival, and her fight with Otoya and how Isuke had patched her up afterwards, how she'd made a fool of herself at dinner last night, and other little details, like how adorable Isuke looked when she was asleep during class or how cute she was when she blushed.

She was so caught up in talking, and her mother seemed so interested in listening, that she didn't even realize she'd said way more than she planned to.

When she finally did understand it, she had already said just about everything there was to say.

"Sounds like you're having lots of fun at Myojo. I'm glad," said her mother, "And Isuke-san sure sounds like a great girl."

Her mother must've definitely gotten the wrong idea. The way she'd talked about her, she had probably sounded like a love struck schoolgirl. She hadn't intended to; the words had just slipped out of her mouth.

But… she guessed there was some truth in them.

She did like Isuke. She'd wanted to get to know her and be friends with her. She enjoyed being with her, whether they were alone or in front of a crowd, acting all lovey-dovey. Heck, she wouldn't deny that she'd sometimes let her imagination run wild. Many times, she had thought of how nice it would be if it wasn't just pretend.

Looking back at her mother, she spotted a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"Mom, are you alright?"

The brown haired woman wiped away the tear before she answered.

"It's just… there's nothing quite as amazing as seeing your little girl fall in love for the first time."

Falling in love? Was that what was happening? She couldn't be falling in love with Isuke, could she?

Isuke was… Isuke was her employer, and maybe even her friend, and Isuke was narcissistic and uncaring. Isuke wasn't someone she should fall in love with.

Yet, her mother had always known Haruki better than she knew herself, so maybe she was right. Maybe she was falling in love, after all.

Yes, she was slowly, but surely, falling in love with Isuke.

* * *

**The scene between Otoya and Shiena was pretty difficult to write. We don't know all that much about Shiena and since Otoya has been the main "villain" of the story up until recently, it was tough to try and write her good side. **

**Haruki has also realized her feelings now, and a confession will be coming soon. I considered waiting a couple of chapters with Haruki falling for Isuke, but it sort of turned out this way as I wrote and I decided to keep it like this.**

**See you next update.**


	13. Our Lives Weren't Meant to be Fairytales

"Feels like it's been forever since we hung out!" exclaimed Nio happily, munching on her melon pan. "I mean, ever since I introduced you to Haruki, you haven't had time for me."

The two were in the same park they had been that day; the day that everything in Isuke's life had been turned upside down.

She hadn't realized back then just how much her meeting with that idiotic, red haired poor girl would affect her. At first, she had just been yet another a paint in the butt, yet still her best and only solution to her problems. Then she'd noticed the frustrating role reversal and her own frequent blushing and embarrassment. In time, she'd been forced to admit to herself that, for the first time, she genuinely cared for someone. And at last, she even fell in love.

Yes, Sagae Haruki had changed Isuke and her life so much that neither was recognizable anymore, and she still couldn't tell whether the change had been for the better or for the worse.

"That's not true," she smirked, "Isuke loves hanging out with you."

Nio looked over at her, a hopeful sparkle in her eyes.

"Really?" she asked, as if it was too good to believe.

"No, you idiot," she stated bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

The blonde sighed, the smile vanishing from her face.

"That's plain cruel, Isuke," she said, "One would think love would soften you at least a little."

Isuke's eyes widened in shock. Too quickly, she turned back to face the other girl.

How did she know? Was it because of her insane detective skills or was it really that obvious? Had Haruki already figured it out?

The mere thought of that made Isuke's cheeks heat up.

Sure, she'd planned to tell Nio about it today. In fact, that had been her sole reason for bringing her out here in the first place, but she hadn't expected her to know already.

"How did you…" she trailed off, knowing there was no need to explain further.

"I know everything!" she exclaimed with a knowing smile and a hand gesture that Isuke barely managed to dodge, avoiding being hit in the face.

"You're seriously creepy. And you should mind your own business," she scolded her annoyed.

Nio giggled guiltily before moving on.

"And I'm assuming you brought me out here to ask for advice?"

"As if," she snorted, "You haven't even dated anyone yet. You're useless…"

"I'm useless, alright!" she agreed, not offended in the least.

Seriously, that girl must have pretty low self-esteem to let herself get pushed around like that. Isuke knew she should be nicer to her, but kindness didn't come easily to her in the first place.

She leaned back, looking up at the sky. It was getting late, and the sun had long since gone down, but the park was still vaguely illuminated, as it bathed in the moonlight. It was indeed a beautiful night, she decided.

"Think it's stupid?"

"What? Confessing?" Nio asked, not quite following her friend's line of thoughts.

"The entire thing," she explained.

It wasn't as though Haruki saw her that way, and even if she did, she probably didn't have time for a relationship. She had her family to worry about, and with all the love she felt towards them, Isuke somehow doubted there would be anything left for her.

And if they were to start dating, what would she do? She couldn't exactly keep paying her to be her girlfriend, and she couldn't imagine Haruki accepting the money as a gift. Someone as stupidly righteous and noble wouldn't want to be made a charity case.

"Stop doubting yourself; you're Inukai Isuke, aren't you? For as long as I've known you, you've been oozing with confidence, so don't back out now," Nio encouraged her.

"But, I…" She wasn't really sure how to finish that sentence. What did she even want to say? Did she want to take Nio's advice, or did she want to talk herself out of it?

"What are you so afraid of, anyway? It isn't like you."

What a simpleminded question. She was afraid of what everyone would be afraid of; rejection. Having her heart broken, their friendship ruined, stuff that everyone were afraid of.

Heck, Haruki was making her act like some stereotypical, love struck idiot.

"I think you should just tell her how you feel," she stated, "Because I think she feels the same way about you."

"She told you that?" Isuke asked suspiciously. She'd learned by now not to blindly rely on Nio's assumptions.

"No, but it's pretty obvious. She isn't that good of an actress."

"Oh?" she muttered, wanting Nio to be more specific.

Just as the blonde was about to say something, she was interrupted by a cell phone ringing.

Sighing, Isuke picked up her phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Papa.

Under normal circumstances, Isuke would never hesitate to answer a call from her father, but after the dinner with Haruki, she didn't really want to talk to either of her parents.

She waited for a while, but Papa didn't hang up, and so she figured that if she didn't answer, he'd just keep calling and calling. And when she finally got home, there would be no end to it.

"Hello, Papa," she greeted in a cute voice, hoping to hide her annoyance.

"Hi, Isuke," Papa answered, "Where are you now?"

"Just in the park with Nio; why?" Her parents usually didn't bother to call and check on her that often.

"Could you hurry back home?" he asked.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something," she retorted, letting some of her anger slip into her voice. She really didn't want to go home quite yet.

"But Mama and I have a surprise for you," he begged, "Can't you please hurry back?"

"Fine." She rolled her eyes and hung up without saying goodbye.

Isuke got up from the bench, just now realizing how cold she was, only wearing a skirt and a top that left her stomach bare.

"You leaving already?" Nio asked, getting up as well.

"Yeah."

"Okay!" she chirped, "Good luck then, and get back to me after you've talked to Haruki."

Isuke couldn't help but smile at Nio's curiosity. Even though she was annoying, it was nice to know that she cared.

"I will," she promised her as she started walking, "And Nio?"

"Huh?" she asked.

Isuke glanced back at her over her shoulder, still smiling slightly.

"Thanks."

* * *

When Isuke entered the living room, she wasn't sure whether to laugh, break something, or march right back out, because before her stood Hanabusa Sumireko.

What could she, of all people, be doing in her house?

She didn't really need to ask, though, because she already knew the answer.

_"Well, Papa just happened to bump into someone yesterday…"_

_"It was a much respected and successful business man." _

_"And he just happens to have a daughter your age."_

Of course. Hanabusa Sumireko was the daughter of a company CEO who ran the Hanabusa Financial Clique, making her family filthy rich.

They had money, connections, status, everything that Eisuke and Hiroshi wanted for their daughter.

"Welcome home, Isuke," greeted Papa cheerfully.

"Remember what I mentioned a while ago, Isuke?" her Mama asked, "Hanabusa-san runs the Hanabusa Financial Clique, and this is his daughter." He gestured towards the blue eyed girl, who stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"I believe they already know each other, Inukai-san," informed Sumireko's father with a knowing smile, "Sumireko, didn't you say that you know Isuke-san from school?"

"Yes, we're in the same class," she replied formally. Mama and Papa laughed along with the business man.

"Must be fate at work," joked Hiroshi, making Isuke sigh heavily.

Under normal circumstances, she'd just be annoyed with him for saying something so embarrassing, but right now another feeling was overshadowing it.

She felt betrayed. Papa had actually liked Haruki, so much that she thought maybe there was a chance, but Eisuke had obviously won him over.

What a traitor…

"Why don't we let the girls talk in peace? That way, we could also discuss some things," suggested Hanabusa.

"Good idea," nodded Mama, "Isuke, why don't you and Sumireko-san go talk in your room or something?"

She didn't bother to reply. Instead, she just grabbed Sumireko forcefully by the wrist and dragged her along towards her room, slamming the door shut behind them.

Hopefully, either her parents or Sumireko's father would understand that she wasn't exactly overjoyed with this.

* * *

"How did this happen?" Isuke asked, mostly to herself, "What a pain."

"Well," Sumireko began hesitantly, "It is in my parents' best interest that I find a suitor, and I take it your parents think the same for you."

Isuke sat down in one of the chairs and nodded towards the free one, inquiring she wanted the other girl to have a seat.

"What about Banba?" she questioned nosily. It wasn't like she really cared about Sumireko's and Mahiru's relationship. The only reason she had even noticed that Sumireko had feelings for the timid girl was because it was clear as day.

"What about her?" She tried to seem completely oblivious, but to Isuke, the change in her demeanor upon the mention of Mahiru's name was obvious.

Her entire body tensed and she sat up more straightly, her eyebrows furrowed slightly and something also changed in her eyes.

"Please, I'm pretty sure everyone has noticed by now," she mocked, feeling satisfied upon seeing the girl's face turn red.

"E-Everyone, you say?" Sumireko cleared her throat awkwardly to cover for her stuttering.

"Well, everyone except for Banba, maybe."

Isuke looked at her nails. She should get a manicure soon, as it had been a while since last time.

"It couldn't have worked out between me and her, anyway," she declared after a while, now far more composed, just like her usual self.

Isuke had always thought that the girl seemed calm and composed. She didn't talk much to her classmates, but she'd figured it was more out of self-worth and lack of interest than out of shyness. She also appeared delicate and polite.

That was pretty much all the opinions Isuke had made up about the girl. Apart from these assumptions and facts, she had never paid that much attention to her.

"My parents want me to be with someone of high status."

That pissed Isuke off.

Was Sumireko really that tolerant and weak-willed? There was no way she could want to be with Isuke. She was obviously in love with Mahiru, who was the exact opposite of Isuke.

She was aware that Sumireko was a good girl, but to think she'd just accept being bossed around and having other people decide everything for her; she hadn't thought her to be that weak.

"Are you saying you're fine with this?" she hissed angrily.

She wasn't going to give in and accept this, and like hell she'd let Sumireko do that either.

"I won't pretend I'm very fond of you, but if it's my parents' desire, I have no oppositions to this arrangement for the time being," she replied coolly, seemingly unaffected by Isuke's sudden outburst.

Well, they had been in the same class for over a year, so she'd more or less gotten used to the pink haired girl's temper.

"You're like a fucking rug, Hanabusa. You're pretty much laying down in the dirt yelling 'step on me'," she yelled at her, abruptly standing up.

She couldn't do this right now. She had to leave.

Before she could get anywhere, the peach haired girl grabbed her by the wrist, with much more strength than Isuke had expected for someone who was supposedly "frail".

"Wait," she demanded firmly, "I know you'd rather be with Sagae-san, and if you're as opposed to this agreement as you seem, I guess we could try to find a way out of this."

Upon seeing Isuke calm down, she let go of her wrist and backed away a few steps.

"So now you're willing to cooperate?" she smirked, pleased that she wouldn't have to convince Mama and Papa to call off the deal on her own.

"Well, it's not like I'd want to be with you anyway," Sumireko replied with a joking grin. If she was talking to anyone else, she'd probably pretend to be hurt, but she was too surprised right now. She honestly hadn't thought that Sumireko was the type to come with a joke, much less around her.

* * *

"So the princess got dumped by the pauper, huh?" Isuke laughed fascinated. Much to her own dismay, she found herself enjoying Sumireko's company.

She didn't believe they'd ever be best friends or anything. She didn't feel quite as comfortable or entertained as around Haruki, but Sumireko proved to be less annoying than many other people that she knew, amongst them Nio.

In conclusion, she didn't have a bad time talking to her.

"I accidently mentioned it to my parents. They said I chose the wrong girl," she continued bitterly, "I believe they think I should have gone with a prince instead."

Isuke giggled, not having expected her to follow up on the nicknaming.

"Well, don't look at me," she said.

"If I were to compare this to your average fairytale, I'd say you'd make a fine witch." Sumireko grinned teasingly at her, and she put up an insulted face. Her pouting only made the girl laugh.

She glanced to her side, considering if she should hit her with a pillow, but then she decided against it. A little too childish, perhaps. And it would also be a little weird to do that to someone you barely knew.

It was sort of strange, because during the past couple of hours, she felt like she'd gotten to know her really well. She had assumed that a girl like Sumireko, who didn't have many friends, would take a while to open up, but she'd been mistaken yet again.

"I always thought you to be the classy delicate type, Hanabusa, but I guess I misjudged you." It seemed she'd misjudged her about several things.

She should learn not to jump to conclusions so quickly…

To Sumireko, it didn't sound like much of a compliment, but she figured that in Isuke's mind, that's exactly what it was. She probably wouldn't get any kinder words out of her either.

"Well in that case, I'll admit that I'm pleasantly surprised, as well. You aren't nearly as repulsive as you sometimes appear." She didn't want to give Isuke too much praise when she only got such a halfhearted compliment.

Then again, it was still a compliment; something she'd never expected to receive from Inukai Isuke.

She really wasn't all that bad. Maybe they could actually become friends after they sorted all of this out.

* * *

"No way." That was the first thought that went through her mind when Isuke told her the truth.

Haruki and Isuke weren't a real couple. They had just been faking it in order to keep her parents from trying to pair her up with anyone else, but it hadn't gone as planned. Because apparently, Isuke's parents hadn't been impressed with her girlfriend, thus making them introduce their daughter to her.

"Well… I did find it peculiar that your parents tried to pair us up while you already had a girlfriend," she stated, still baffled by the sudden revelation.

Those two had had the entire school fooled with their little act. There was no way they could act that well. There had to be something more to it.

"But you really do like her, don't you?"

The blush on the other girl's face was enough to confirm her suspicions. Biting her lip, she managed t hold back her laughter. Seeing Isuke all flustered wasn't an everyday sight.

"Are you going to tell her?" she asked curiously.

"None of your business," groaned Isuke.

"You're the one who told me, on your own initiative, and now you're going to leave me hanging? That's not very nice."

"Isuke never said she was nice," she stated bluntly. Sumireko chuckled at her.

"Well, I'm going to see if my father is ready to leave yet. Thank you for having me over," she said as she arose from her chair.

"It wasn't as though I had a choice." Seemed like Isuke had decided to keep being cold. She didn't mind, though, because she knew she didn't mean anything bad by it.

"In any case, good luck with Sagae-san," she told her. She still didn't know Isuke very well, but she could tell that she didn't deserve having her heart broken, so she hoped that Haruki wouldn't reject her.

Hopefully, no more hearts would have to be broken.

* * *

**So, here's the new chapter and oh god; what am I even doing with this story xD** **Let's just hope it'll all be sorted out in time.**

**A reviewer also made me aware that I got the currency wrong. I don't really know just how much yen is and I must have gotten it mixed up while calculating. Might go through the other chapters and correct it sometime, but I don't know. At least know I'm aware of my mistake now, and thanks for pointing it out.**

**Anyway, thanks for the continued support, and I'll see you next time.**


	14. Life Flows Like A River

She wasn't sure what to say. Or well, she wasn't sure how to say it.

She'd spent a lot of time thinking about how to confess her feelings, but most of her ideas had just sounded corny and she knew that things always sounded better in one's head than when you said it out loud, so it would probably end up sounding awful.

Thus, she had decided to improvise her confession, but now, as that moment was just around the corner while she was waiting for Haruki to arrive, she regretted it. She had no idea what she should say. Heck, it wasn't as though she'd confessed to anyone before. She'd never even felt that way about anyone before she met Haruki.

She could still back out, though. She could pretend she hadn't wanted to say anything in particular; just make small talk and joke around like they usually did. But she didn't want that. She wanted to tell Haruki how she felt, put all the cards on the table, and see where things went from there.

In a way, it was a gamble. All or nothing. Either she felt the same way, or she'd flat out reject her.

The possibility of the later scared Isuke, but she'd never been one to back out because she was scared. Many things about her had changed since she met Haruki, but she wouldn't let that be one of them.

She wasn't backing out now.

A short while later, a person rounded the corner.

"You're late, Sagae," she spat venomously as the girl approached her, munching on some pocky.

"Ah, sorry. I had some things to take care of."

Isuke was always late, yet it seemed Haruki always arrived even later than her. Usually, it was annoying to no extent, but today she guessed maybe it was for the best. At least it had given her some time to think.

"I'm sorry about the dinner," she apologized, most likely for the hundredth time.

"Knock it off already," Isuke whined, "Isuke is getting sick of that stupid word. No one blames you for anything."

The redhead seemed to become more at ease after Isuke had said that, as though she finally understood that she wasn't at fault.

Haruki settled beside her on the park bench, placing her hands behind her head as she leaned back. She closed her eyes so that the sun wouldn't bother her so much.

"It hasn't been that long," she stated out of the blue.

"Huh?" Isuke looked at the other girl questioningly.

"I mean, it's been less than two months since we met," she explained, "But it feels like forever, ya know."

Thinking about that was strange. She'd met this girl just a few weeks ago, yet it felt like so much longer. There was so much that had happened since then.

She'd already fallen in love, in a matter of less than two short months. After going so many years without being in love with anyone, this seemed odd.

"Ugh, don't go all sentimental on me," she snorted habitually. Haruki chuckled at her predictable response.

"Like you haven't had any fun," she teased with a devious grin.

"It's not like I denied having enjoyed these last few weeks," Isuke stated bluntly, making her grin falter.

Haruki had expected her to get all embarrassed, maybe blush and stutter something about her being an idiot. But she sure as hell hadn't expected her to admit that. It wasn't like her at all.

Isuke got up and gestured for Haruki to do the same.

They began walking through the park, side by side.

"It really has been fun," exclaimed Isuke thoughtfully, "Our arguments and banters, the festival, Otoya beating the shit out of you-"

"Hey now," Haruki stopped her, "I didn't think that one was all that funny."

Both of them laughed at that.

"But you tending to my injuries afterwards wasn't half bad, if you leave out the fact that you probably made them worse," she joked, making Isuke pout adorably.

"Isuke tried her best. You should show some gratitude."

"I'm not about to kneel down and kiss your feet, but thanks, I guess," she said, not sounding very thankful at all. However, Isuke figured most people wouldn't muster up even that amount of appreciation for her healing skills, so it was good enough.

"So, where do we go from here?" Haruki asked after a while, "'Cause your parents hate me and stuff."

Isuke wanted to deny it, but there was no hiding Mama's dislike towards the girl.

She was not entirely sure how to answer that question, seeing as she hadn't bothered to tell her about the entire ordeal between her and Sumireko. They had agreed to somehow sort it out as quickly as possible, so she hadn't felt the need to mention it. Especially considering that Haruki already seemed to have more than enough to worry about.

"We'll figure something out," she shrugged, hoping to avoid having to explain about Sumireko. "Besides, it's not like it matters what Mama and Papa think. I can be with whoever I want to."

Haruki gazed at her, a strange glint in her golden eyes. Isuke wasn't sure if she had realized what she'd hinted towards or not.

Only now did she notice that they had stopped walking and were standing down by the river. They were facing each other, Haruki's face so close to hers that it made her face heat up.

"Isuke-sama, are you…" she trailed off. In case she was just reading things into it, she didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Haruki, I-" she started, but cut herself off immediately.

What should she say?

"These last couple of months…" She must have sounded like a complete idiot, clumsily stuttering as she desperately searched her mind for the right words. She bet she sounded like Mahiru usually did right now.

"Since I met you I… You turned my life upside down, you know," she sighed, finally feeling like she found something, however stupid it was, to say, "But I guess I liked it. It was different; you were different, but I've felt more like myself around you than I've ever had before."

Damn it, this was way too sappy and cheesy for her. It all sounded so lame, like some clique soap opera.

"So ever since we started "dating" I've…"

"…wanted it to be real?" Haruki finished for her.

She was taken aback by how the girl had taken the words right out of her mouth, and now, she wasn't sure what to do next.

"I don't want it to be fake either," she continued, "I want it to be for real."

Isuke was frozen in place. She couldn't move or speak, her mind to preoccupied with trying to make sense of Haruki's words to do anything else.

She really did feel the same way.

When her mind could finally comprehend this fact, a comfortable warmth spread through her body, and it felt like a heavy load was lifted off her shoulders.

In that moment, looking at Haruki's smiling face, all she could feel was happiness.

Haruki, being the boldest of the two, was the one who moved first.

Very slowly, she leaned closer to Isuke, fearing rejection even at this moment. There was a chance that Isuke would be too embarrassed and move away, or even punch her in the face, but she didn't.

Her lips gently touched Isuke's, and she took a moment to savor their incredible softness.

At first, the kiss was tender. Both of them were careful, fearing that the other would move away, but as they realized that this was not the case, their kiss deepened.

Isuke entangled her fingers in Haruki's wild hair as she drew her even closer, making her moan softly against her lips. Haruki wrapped her arms around Isuke's bare waist, now more grateful than ever for the girl's revealing clothing style.

Yet, the pleasure was short-lived as Haruki's cell phone began ringing. She broke away from the kiss and picked up her phone.

"I'm really starting to hate those devices," Isuke muttered, this not being the first time someone called and interrupted her.

"Hello," Haruki said as she answered.

"Hey, it's Aki," greeted the voice, "Fuyuka told me to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Okay, I'll be right there, so don't you dare eat my portion," she laughed as she hung up. While she was with Isuke, she had completely forgotten, but now she felt the intense hunger returning. With all the bills coming in lately, they'd been forced to skip a couple of meals, which was already starting to take its toll on each and every one of them.

"I gotta go," she told Isuke, "Dinner's ready."

"Ok. But Haruki, are we…"

Instead of replying, Haruki planted a quick kiss on her cheek before she left. As she turned back, she could see Isuke blushing furiously.

"See you later," she laughed as she waved goodbye.

"Idiot!" Isuke yelled after her.

* * *

"I'm home!" Haruki yelled as she threw her bag on the floor and kicked her shoes off. She entered the living room where all her siblings had already begun eating.

"I tried to save you some, but they're like animals," Fuyuka apologized when Haruki noticed there was barely anything left.

"Oh well, guess it's my fault for being late," she said, ruffling Aki's dark hair playfully. She then put some rice and vegetables on her plate and began eating.

"Nee-chan, aren't you mad?" asked one of the twins.

"Yeah, food is like the only thing you get worked up over," agreed Aki, after swallowing a piece of meat.

"It's ok," she smiled. Right now, she couldn't care less if there wasn't much food left for her.

Fuyuka raised her eyebrows, looking at her older sister with a knowing smile.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," she shrugged with an innocent grin, that her siblings saw through easily.

"You're lying, nee-chan! Something happened."

"Or maybe someone?" Fuyuka inquired teasingly.

Swallowing the remaining food in one huge bite, Haruki stood up and headed for the kitchen to wash her plate.

"Seriously, you guys are embarrassing," she sighed.

"Come on, you can tell us," said Fuyuka, "Family doesn't keep secrets, after all."

Knowing she simply couldn't win this argument, she walked back to the living room and sat down between Aki and Fuyuka. All her siblings looked at her expectantly.

In a way, this was a good thing. Maybe it could take their mind off the bills for a while.

"Okay, so I met this girl-" she started.

"What's her name?" two of the younger kids questioned.

"Is she pretty?" asked Aki.

"How did you meet her?" spoke Fuyuka, a little more calmly than the rest of them.

Haruki already felt a little dizzy, and she knew answering all their questions would take a while. Satisfying the curiosity of a bunch of children was no easy task, that she could say out of experience.

"I'll tell you everything, alright?" she chuckled at their eagerness, "Please, just ask one question at a time."

Haruki spent the rest of the evening telling them about Isuke, and even thought they didn't manage to wait for their turn to ask something, she somehow managed to answer all their questions. Seeing how interested they were she also figured she'd have to bring Isuke over sometime. She thought that would make them really happy. Maybe even almost as happy as she was in that moment.

* * *

"Sup?" spoke Nio's voice through the phone. Isuke thought she sounded half-asleep, which would make sense considering it was way past midnight.

"Did I wake you?"

"What ya talking about?" the peppy girl yawned, "I'm wide awake."

Isuke snickered to herself. Nio could be pretty weird sometimes, or more like all the time, and at times she was a little creepy, but there was something sort of stupidly adorable about her, as well.

"Did you need something?" she asked, probably eager to get back to bed.

"What? Can't I call my best friend without needing anything?" she joked sarcastically.

"Not if you're you," she replied sleepily, yawning yet again.

She really was no fun messing with when she was tired, Isuke thought, so she decided to get to the point.

"I promised I'd get back to you after I talked to Haruki, didn't I?"

"You confessed?" In a split second, Nio went from sounding like she was sleep talking, to sounding like she'd had ten energy drinks.

"Guess you could say that," Isuke muttered. She wasn't quite sure she could call it that, seeing as Haruki had been the one finishing the sentence for her. Yet, she'd gotten the point across, so it was more or less irrelevant.

"What did she say?" urged the blonde nosily. She rolled her eyes and snorted at her.

"I'm not about to give you all the details, idiot," she stated coldly, "That doesn't concern you."

"Now you're just making me more curious," whined Nio disappointedly, her voice exactly like that of a little kid whose parents had rejected her candy, "You're so terrible, you know."

"That's Isuke in a nutshell. The wicked witch," she giggled, thinking back on Sumireko's comment.

"Huh?" Of course Nio wouldn't quite get it, and she didn't care to explain it to her either. That'd mean she'd have to tell her everything about Mama and Papa trying to pair her up with Sumireko and all that, which she really wasn't feeling up to right now.

"Nothing, nothing," she waved it off, "But do you want to know how it went?"

"Of course!" came the reply, not a split second after she'd finished her question. Hadn't she been _certain_ that Haruki felt the same way? If that was the case, why was she even curious to hear how it had gone?

"Well, she feels the same way about me."

"I knew it!" chirped Nio excitedly. She almost seemed happier about this than Isuke herself. Then again, she was more the type who showed her feelings, while Isuke kept her cool and didn't let her emotions show.

"Sure, who could possibly resist my charm," she smirked, making Nio laugh heartedly. After she'd quieted down, she spoke up again.

"But really, that's great," she said seriously, "I'm happy for you, Isuke. And for Haruki too."

Yeah, it really was a moment of happiness, wasn't it?

It felt sort of foreign to her, though. Not only being in love, but actually knowing that the one she was in love with felt the same way. It was something that she'd never experienced before, and there was something so reassuring and yet so thrilling about the entire thing.

She definitely felt different. She felt like an completely different person than she had a month or two ago. She even felt like a different person than she was this morning, but it felt good. She was content.

"But happiness aside, I'd really like to go back to sleep now," informed Nio, the drowsiness gradually starting to return to her voice.

"Sure," she agreed, "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

After she hung up, she lay down on her bed and pulled her covers up under her chin. Her fingers softly touched her lips as she thought back to the kiss earlier that day. Knowing there were many more to come, she smiled to herself. When she eventually fell asleep, the smile was still on her lips.

* * *

**Not a very long chapter, but oh well. I kinda struggled with this one for some reason, so I'm sorry it took a little while extra. Next chapter will probably feature Isuke visiting Haruki's family, 'cause I think that'd be kinda cute and fluffy. Bye!**


	15. The Same I've Always Been?

"So, have you kissed yet?" asked the blue eyed girl with a teasing smirk.

Isuke felt her cheeks heat up and threw a pillow at Sumireko's face so that she wouldn't see it.

"N-none of your business!" she hissed, failing miserably to sound composed.

"My, my, I never expected that you'd get all embarrassed. It's so unlike the impression you give off at school," she giggled, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Sumireko was quite intrigued with this formerly hidden side of Isuke, and she felt like now that she'd gotten to know this side of her, they could get along very well. As a matter of fact; they did. During the last two weeks, their parents had arranged several meetings between them, and neither of them really had anything against it.

"Shut up," Isuke countered crankily.

"You know I don't mean anything bad by it," she smiled, "I just think it's cute, that's all."

Really, they did make a good couple.

She had only seen them together a couple of times after they started dating for real. They had been holding hands a couple of times at school, and once Haruki had kissed her cheek, making her face turn the same color as her hair. And no one failed to miss how Haruki looked at Isuke's sleeping face in class.

They truly were a good pair, and Sumireko was happy for her new friend. However, thinking of how she herself had been rejected, she couldn't help but feel slightly envious.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "Enough about Isuke's love life. Why don't we talk about yours?"

"There's not much to tell, though," she declared calmly. She had hoped to avoid this topic.

"What exactly happened between you and Banba?" Isuke pried upon seeing her face change slightly. They were only small changes, but she definitely reacted to the mention of Mahiru's name.

"Well, I…" she trailed off, thinking back to that night a few weeks ago.

"You confessed and got rejected?" she guessed, too impatient to wait for her to finish.

"Something along those lines," Sumireko nodded quietly.

"What an idiot," Isuke sighed, "Did she tell you why?"

Sumireko remained silent for a while. She had found herself asking that question many times already, but she could never seem to find an answer. Sure, there were many possibilities, but what was the real reason. Could it be that she just didn't feel that way about her?

"No, I left after that," she eventually replied.

The atmosphere in the room had, in less than a minute, changed from bright and merry to grim, and both of them felt uncomfortable with it.

"Ugh, this is depressing," she groaned. That was ironic, considering she'd been the one to bring it up. "Let's do something else."

Isuke got up from her bed and started digging through a drawer.

"What are you doing?" the other girl asked.

"Fixing those nails of yours," grinned Isuke as she tried to decide what color would suit her best.

* * *

"Man, job interviews are such a drag," Haruki sighed to herself as she walked along the sidewalk.

Only today, she'd attended two of them. She wasn't very eager to do any of the jobs, but she knew her family needed the extra money now more than ever.

She felt like she had made a good impression, at least. Hopefully, she'd get one of those jobs.

Now, she was exhausted and looked forwards to seeing Isuke. Just being around her made her feel like the crushing burden on her shoulders was lightened. She felt happier and more at ease, like she could finally relax and let her guard down a little.

As she rung the doorbell to Isuke's house, she prayed that her parents weren't home.

She'd been lucky to avoid them the last two weeks, only meeting Hiroshi once when she visited Isuke a few days earlier.

"Come in!" a feminine voice yelled from inside the house. Haruki let out a sigh of relief as she entered.

She looked around, still just as amazed as the first time. Isuke's house was huge, and they had so much expensive-looking furniture and decorations.

She headed towards Isuke's room, but made an abrupt halt in the doorway. Her golden eyes met a pair of blue ones.

"Good afternoon, Sagae-san," greeted Sumireko, giving her a slight nod.

"Yeah… Hey," she replied awkwardly, her mind still trying to make sense of the scene before her.

What could Hanabusa Sumireko be doing at Isuke's house? As far as Haruki knew, the two had no connections to each other. Yet, here she was, casually sitting on the edge of Isuke's bed, smiling politely at her.

"So, I was gonna…"

"I should probably get going," exclaimed Sumireko abruptly, "Bye, Sagae-san. See you some other time, Isuke-san."

They even called each other by first name?

"Haruki, that was-" Isuke began right after Sumireko had closed the door behind her. Haruki held her hand up, gesturing for her to leave it be.

"There's no need to explain," she cut her off. She wasn't going to make a big deal about it. It wasn't like anything had happened. It wasn't like anything _would_ happen. She knew Isuke, and she wasn't that kind of person.

"I said I trust you, remember?" She smiled reassuringly at her girlfriend, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to her cheek. As always, Isuke blushed slightly, and Haruki wondered if she'd keep doing that every time she kissed her. In a way, she really hoped so, because it was incredibly adorable.

"I'm not gonna go all yandere on you either. If you and Hanabusa are friends, I think that's a good thing." It didn't seem to her like Isuke had a lot of friends, except for her and Nio, so she assumed this really was a positive thing.

Isuke shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

"So, what did you come over for?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you to come over tonight," she smiled cutely, hoping to make her say yes.

"Absolutely not," she stated bluntly, "Isuke doesn't want to spend her night with a bunch of noisy kids."

"Come on, Isuke-sama!" Haruki begged, thinking about how eager her siblings were to meet Isuke. They had been going on about it nonstop for two weeks now. "It'll be fun. We'll watch some movies and play games and stuff."

"Doesn't sound like fun," she snorted. In truth, Isuke was afraid of going. She didn't want to make a bad impression with Haruki's family, like she had with Mama and Papa. She'd never been good with kids, and a movie night didn't sound like her scene.

"I met your family, remember? You owe me," she argued, but when it didn't seem to have any effect, she changed her approach, "Please, won't you do this for me?"

She played with Isuke's curls as she smiled at her, waiting for her to give in. She could tell it was just a matter of time.

"No," she said, but there was a hint of hesitation in her voice now.

"Please?" she begged cutely.

"Ugh… Fine," she forfeited grumpily, "But only for a little while."

Too happy and relieved to conceal her emotions, Haruki wrapped her arms around Isuke's waist and pulled her into a forceful hug. She didn't hug her back, but she didn't struggle to get loose either. Then again, that might be because Haruki held her so tightly she could barely even breathe, and much less move.

"Thank you, Isuke-sama!" Haruki squealed gratefully.

"I must be going soft," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Isuke changed her weight from foot to foot, constantly running her hands through her hair to check that it was still in place and smoothening imaginary wrinkles on her clothes.

She didn't know why she was making such a big deal about it. Haruki had told her that her mom wouldn't even be there, so she was just meeting a bunch of poor brats. So then why was she so anxious?

The door flew open and she had to take a step back to avoid being hit by it. After that, she froze in her tracks.

She wasn't prepared. She hadn't even knocked yet, so she assumed they must have spotted her through a window or something.

Two young girls stood in the doorway, grinning cheekily at her.

"Nee-chan, your girlfriend is here!" yelled the oldest one, a mischievous smile on her lips.

She could hear various clattering and rattling sounds from inside, and then footsteps.

"Hey, Isuke-sama," smiled Haruki as she arrived at the door.

"Nee-chan?" whispered the younger girl, who had brown eyes and pigtails.

"Huh?" Haruki's sister pointed at her, making her aware that she was wearing an apron. Realizing this, Haruki quickly took it off and threw it on the floor in a corner.

Isuke looked over at it. Did they always leave their stuff spread across the floor?

As she followed Haruki inside the small building, her suspicions were confirmed. Four kids were running around the place, throwing pillows at each other and climbing the furniture. There was a girl in the kitchen, preparing some food, and another one in the living room, picking up clothes and pillows from the floor while trying to talk sense into the playing kids.

Isuke had been right. It was just like a zoo…

Haruki scratched the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly.

"Sorry for the mess," she apologized sincerely.

"Haruki and I have been cleaning all afternoon, but we didn't stand a chance against these guys," smiled the oldest-looking girl, walking over to greet her. "I'm Fuyuka. Haruki has told us a lot about you, so everyone has been looking forwards to meeting you."

"I've been looking forwards to meeting you too," said Isuke, forcing a sweet smile onto her face. Haruki bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Isuke being all nice and sweet was so weird.

"Hey everyone, why don't you come say hi to Isuke-san?" Fuyuka yelled over the noise. The children's attention turned towards them and they immediately rushed over.

"Nice to meet you, Isuke-nee-chan," said one of the girls that had opened the door.

"You have pretty nails," said the other one, "Will you paint mine later?"

She didn't get time to answer, because the others kept babbling.

"Why would someone so pretty date someone like Haruki?" said a dark haired boy.

Haruki smacked the back of his head, making him stumble and fall to the floor.

"Watch it, Aki," she hissed at him. The other siblings laughed as Aki mumbled something to himself.

"Well, the food is ready, so why don't we go eat?" asked Fuyuka, to which the kids cheered happily.

* * *

Isuke had never seen kids with such appetites before. They shoved down the food , seemingly without even chewing it properly. The only ones who had remotely decent table manners were Fuyuka and Haruki.

Isuke mostly shoved the food around the plate with her chopsticks. It wasn't exactly what she was used to, and the kids seemed so hungry that she felt like it'd be better to leave most of it for them.

"Isuke-san, you and Haruki go to the same school, right?" questioned Fuyuka curiously.

"We do," Isuke nodded, not sure what else to say about that.

"Is that where you met?" asked one of the other girls. They had already introduced themselves, but Isuke just couldn't get their names right, so she simply avoided using them as much as possible.

"No, we actually met through a fellow friend that thought we'd make a good couple."

"Seems your friend knows what she was doing," concluded Fuyuka with a smile. She had already decided that Isuke was a good match for Haruki.

It wasn't like she knew her personally, but seeing Haruki's face light up like that just by being in her presence was enough to convince her. If this girl made her sister happy, that meant the world to her.

"Nio is kinda weird," laughed Haruki heartedly, "But I do think she's pretty clever as well."

* * *

The rest of the night went by in a flash. As soon as she realized that Haruki's family seemed to accept her, Isuke managed to relax more. She did her best to appear polite, but after a while Haruki dragged her aside and told her she could turn it down a notch and be herself. If anything, that made them like her even more.

They watched a couple of family movies and Fuyuka indiscreetly had them squeeze together in the small couch between all the kids. At one point the twins started arguing and ended up pushing Isuke more or less onto Haruki's lap. To this, the kids began making kissing faces and them.

Later they played card games and board games while talking. Fuyuka sent the youngest children to bed, so it got a lot more peaceful and they were able to have a proper conversation.

Fuyuka grilled Isuke about hers and Haruki's relationship, down to the tiniest detail, and Isuke answered the best she could. When she ran out of things to ask, Aki began telling stories about Haruki, most of them being insanely embarrassing. In the end, Haruki lifted him up and carried him away to stop him from saying anything more.

"Isuke-san?" spoke Fuyuka after Haruki and Aki had left, leaving them alone in the room.

"Yes, Fuyuka? What's the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Or well…" she hesitated a little, "I really feel like I should thank you."

Isuke raised her eyebrows. This came as a shock to her, seeing as she hadn't done anything at all, at least not that she was aware of.

"For what, exactly?" she questioned densely.

The brunette giggled as though she'd said something stupid.

"You really can't see it?" It was so obvious to her, but maybe Isuke couldn't see it. After all, Haruki only looked and acted like that when she was with her, so she might have thought she was always like that.

"Know what?" Isuke was getting annoyed, but tried not to let it show. Haruki had told her to be herself, but there was no reason to snap at Fuyuka and make her think badly of her.

"She's changed a lot lately," the younger girl answered cryptically. This didn't really help Isuke understand what she meant.

"How so? And what does that have to do with me?" she wondered out loud.

Had Haruki really changed since they met? To her, she still seemed like the same hard-working, yet somehow carefree, pocky-eating idiot she'd always been.

"I think you'd better figure the rest out for yourself."

Isuke gave her a look that clearly said "are you kidding me?", but Fuyuka only kept smiling secretively at her.

"Sorry, Isuke-san, but my lips are sealed," she stated.

"What's going on here?" spoke Haruki's voice from behind Isuke.

"Nothing much," the pink haired girl shrugged, "I'd better leave now."

Haruki gave her another hug, and this time she returned the loving gesture.

"Thanks for coming over. It meant a lot to everyone," grinned Haruki.

"It was very nice meeting you, Isuke-san," her sister said, "And remember that you're always welcome here."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said as she headed for the door, "In case I ever want to hear more embarrassing stories about Haruki."

Haruki ran after her as fast as she could, but she didn't manage to catch up.

"Why you-" she started, but Isuke ended up shutting the door in her face, "Oh well…"

Haruki sighed and smiled as she watched Isuke walking away through the window. For a while, Fuyuka just stood there and observed her sister's smiling face.

"You really are happy now, aren't you, nee-chan?" she spoke under her breath.

* * *

**Hi again, everyone!**

**Just the other day I noticed fan art of my story on tumblr, and it made me incredibly happy. I really wanted to say thank you to **_**gaberoid **_**for creating it. Also decided to use it as my new cover image. Anyway, it looks awesome and again, thanks a lot.**

**Okay so, just a quick question. Haruki is getting a new job, do you want it to be at a construction site like in the anime, or at the café where Mahiru works? Either is fine with me, so I really want the readers' opinions on that one.**


End file.
